BROOKLYN RIDER
(MYSTERY QUARTET)
mann series
saturday, april 6 at 7:30 PM at washington irving
virtual concert released on monday, april 8
Our 2024 Mystery Quartet is Brooklyn Rider (Johnny Gandelsman, violin; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Nicholas Cords, viola; Michael Nicolas, cello).
PROGRAM:
Sandbox of Invention: An Ode to the String Quartet
Juxtaposing beloved and familiar works with the new and unknown, Brooklyn Rider explores a boundless sandbox of musical creativity, dialogue, and play; the medium of the string quartet itself! Beginning with one of the prototypical jewels of the classical era, Haydn’s warm C major score, chock-full of pioneering inventiveness, radiates with an enduring love for the genre. The program segues from the veritable father of the string quartet to a highly anticipated new chapter of the Brooklyn Rider Almanac. In part inspired by Der Blaue Reiter (the quartet’s namesake), this celebration of the original project’s tenth anniversary adds to a diverse and novel body of works penned by luminous musical creators from the jazz, folk, and indie rock worlds. Next, Sofia Gubaidulina paints an otherworldly sound gate to the baroque era, paving the way for Schumann’s earthy and generous string quartet in A minor. Utterly individual in its conception, this masterful work came forth after a period studying the counterpoint of arguably the greatest musical inventor of them all; J.S. Bach.
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 20, "Sun,” No. 2, Hob.III:32 (1772)
The Brooklyn Rider Almanac
Clarice Assad: Cinematheque
Tyshawn Sorey: untitled
Gabriel Kahane: American Studies
~ intermission ~
Sofia Gubaidulina: Reflections on the Theme B-A-C-H (2002)
Robert Schumann: String Quartet in A minor, Op 41, #1 (1842)
BIO:
“They are four classical musicians performing with the energy of young rock stars jamming on their guitars, a Beethoven-goes-indie foray into making classical music accessible but also celebrating why it was good in the first place.” —Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
With their gripping performance style and unquenchable appetite for musical adventure, Brooklyn Rider has carved a singular space in the world of string quartets over their fifteen-plus year history. Defining the string quartet as a medium with deep historic roots and endless possibility for invention, they find equal inspiration in musical languages ranging from late Beethoven to Persian classical music to American roots music to the endlessly varied voices of living composers. Claiming no allegiance to either end of the historical spectrum, Brooklyn Rider most comfortably operates within the long arc of the tradition, seeking to illuminate works of the past with fresh insight while coaxing the malleable genre into the future through an inclusive programming vision, deep-rooted collaborations with a wide range of global tradition bearers, and the creation of thoughtful and relevant frames for commissioning projects. Read more...