Silhouettes by Justina Jaruseviciute

"[...] She began a conversation of her own, resulting in these exquisite works for string quartet. We are already skipping over composer to watch and going right to composer to hear right now." - A Closer Listen

"A stirring set of chamber music from this composer from Berlin, which seem to capture hope and sadness at once." - Bandcamp (Featured on their New and Notable section)

"This masterpiece [...] is capable of making us dream, of making us tremble, but above all of keeping us going for almost an absolutely thrilling hour. It is of incredible strength and beauty and imbued with great sensitivity." - Mes Enceintes Font Défaut

Back in September 2019, Justina Jaruševičiūtė attended an Echo Collective show at Funkhaus Berlin, where Jóhann Jóhannsson’s album 12 conversations with Thilo Heinzmann was being premiered. This concert, which she described as one of the most touching performances she had ever attended, was what inspired her to write music for string quartet.

Recorded between June and November at the amazingly sounding church Christuskirche Oberschöneweide in Berlin, Silhouettes is a soul-stirring project and an evident demonstration of Jaruševičiūtė’s remarkable compositional skills. The pieces that shape this record are often tenebrous and pensive, contrasted by a few moments in which light seems to shine through, allowing the violins, viola and violoncello to embrace us with hope and comfort. “There is a reason why the album starts with a piece named Wolf Hour and ends with Sunrise”, explains the young composer. “The hour of the wolf is that time of the night in which people wake up without any particular reason and can't fall back asleep. Last year, this happened to me numerous times, which allowed me to think about a lot of musical ideas while I waited on the sun to rise. To me, these ten compositions are like some kind of shadows, silhouettes of these sleepless nights”.

Silhouettes is set to release on the 26th of March on digital format and limited edition CD, designed by Celia Fernández González.

Recorded at Christuskirche Berlin-Oberschöneweide
All tracks recorded, mixed and mastered by Sebastian Ohmert, Tonstudio Sonic-Impulse Berlin
Tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 10: Edi Kotler (1st violin), Semion Gurevich (2nd violin), Shasta Ellenbogen (viola), Emilia Janeil Viktoria Lomakova (cello).
Tracks 2, 3, 7, 8, 9: Héloïse Lefebvre (1st violin), Davis West (2nd violin), Alexina Hawkins (viola), Liron Yariv (cello).

Artwork and design: Celia Fernández González
www.instagram.com/fg.celia/

Justina Jaruševičiūtė is a Lithuanian composer based in Berlin. In 2021 she released her critically acclaimed debut album "Silhouettes" with ten pieces for string quartet. Justina's new composition for violin solo "Selenophobia" was premiered on March 7 and released on June 5, 2024.

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