TOSCA STRING QUARTET REVIEWS
...soon a much wider crowd began to catch the tango music fever. The minor-chord melodies, the edgy rhythms, the complex, melodramatic mood — tango struck a chord in Austin.
- "Ensemble brought tango to the clubs", article, Austin American-Statesman - 2009
The string players appeared at (SXSW) in 2007, proving that crowds welcome them as strongly in UT’s Bass Concert Hall (their alma mater) as they do at Emo’s.
- "CASA Casts a Tosca Lure" article, San Antonio Current - 2008
"If you work with them, you can't go back," grins Voxtrot frontman Ramesh Srivastava about the four professionals in Tosca String Quartet. After recording a track for the band's Your Biggest Fan EP, Tosca returned to the indie-pop quintet and splayed beautiful depth all over their debut full-length. The emotion evident on Voxtrot wouldn't be possible without them.
- "Tosca: Indie Rock's Orchestra", article, Austin Chronicle - 2007
Through it all, the Tosca strings shimmered and skittered their way about the melodies, lending texture and weight to Wagner's obtusely dark lyrical allusions.
- Tosca w/ Lambchop SXSW Showcase review, Austin Chronicle - 2007
In particular, he was masterfully accompanied by the Tosca
Strings, which played a major role in stirring all the different
flavors into one tasteful stew...
- David Byrne concert review, Live Daily.com - 2005
On the other, Texas-based chamber group the Tosca Strings, featured on nearly every track of “Grown Backwards,” saturated the songs with a burnished, complicated glow. Cellos and violins sawed whirling harmonies on “I, Zimbra,” dropped notes like ornaments onto a cover of Lambchop’s “The Man Who Loved Beer,” and unfurled lush swaths of melody on “Glass, Concrete, and Stone.”
- David Byrne concert review, Boston Globe - 2004
Blending old-world dedication with futuristic genre-bending, Austin’s Tosca string quartet is in a class by itself.
- Tosca 'Recommended Music' preview, Austin Chronicle - 2004
Byrne’s fascination with strings has kept the Tosca Strings – Mahoney, Asbell, violinist Tracy Seeger and cellist Sara Nelson – busy in recent years. After touring with Byrne following the 2001 release of his “Look Into the Eyeball” CD, they went into a recording studio in Austin to lay down tracks for “Grown Backwards.” Quartet members recently completed a European tour with Byrne and said they’ve become an ever more integral part of the artist’s live shows.
- David Byrne concert review, The Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, MI - 2004
Aside from the formidable Kronos, it is hard to think of another contemporary string ensemble that is as versatile and bold in its choice of repertoire, venues, and collaborators.
- Tosca concert review, San Antonio Current - 2003
They have maintained that fiery spirit, making it difficult not to get caught up in Bartok’s wry, folk-driven rhythms, but have since honed in on matters of blend and cohesion and come up with more refined technique.
- Tosca Bartok concert review, Austin American-Statesman - 2001
Austin's crossover Tosca Quartet made the Fifth Quartet all but bleed, with their fiery and streetwise performance. Tosca has found a place for itself in Austin's much vaunted live-music scene by performing with an accordionist in tangos, proving again that playing non-classical forms can breathe life into classical music.
- Bela Bartok International Congress concert review, Music in Concert - 2000
Waking Life’s mood, mystery, and fluidity become doubly effective as a result of the sensuous sounds of Austin-based maestro Glover Gill and his seven-piece "tango nuevo" orchestra, Tosca.
- Waking Life movie review, IFCTV.com - 1999
One can only hope that… Reynolds, Stopschinski, and the Tosca String Quartet do something like this again. Collaborations that reap results of this level are not common enough.
- Tosca w/ Graham Reynolds + Peter Stopschinski concert review, Austin Chronicle - 1999
Tosca is sleek, solid, and spare, classically trained… and fully equipped with the instrumental grace their moody and intricate repertoire demands.
- Tosca Tango concert review, Austin Chronicle - 1998
