Winners of the Millennium Grand Prize at the Fischoff National
Chamber Music Competition, the First Prize at the Yellow Springs Competition,
and prizewinners at the prestigious Banff International String Quartet
Competition, the FSQ performs nationally and internationally. At Isaac Stern's
invitation the quartet made its Carnegie Hall debut in a performance that "spoke
of precision, preparation, excitement, profound heritage, and ultimate
satisfaction" (New York Concert Review). A performance at the 92nd Street Y in
New York was hailed by the New York Times as "a triumph of ensemble playing."
The quartet made its European debut with a concert tour of the Balkans sponsored
by Carnegie Hall and the U.S. State Department. The FSQ is currently the Faculty
Quartet in Residence at Utah State University's School of the Arts.
ABOUT THE ISOMIKEIsoMike?
("Isolated Microphones") is an experimental acoustic baffle
system, designed to remedy the interference of intrachannel sounds that results
in compromised fidelity recordings. For this 4-channel recording, the
microphones were suspended on four arms and separated baffle separated the right
/ left acoustic of the front microphones, the egg-shaped baffles separated the
front / left channels, and the smaller heart-shaped baffle separated the right /
left rear microphones. Under thefabric shell of each baffle is a complex
mechanical design that takes over 100 hours to construct. Most baffles absorb
sound from mid- to high-range frequencies; lower frequencies arc more
difficultto absorb. Here, The unique shapes of the IsoMike baffles are
advantageous. As lower frequenciesflow around the heart- or egg-shaped baffles,
they are scattered, effectively dissipating their energy.As a result, the
microphones are much more sensitive-they will pick up extreme acoustic detail.
Wetook great care, therefore, to reduce the noise level within the auditorium
during the recordings
RECORDING AND MASTERING EQUIPMENT