Posted by Sam Reising »
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Since its beginnings in the late 1990s, the string quartet Ethel has grown to become a powerful force in new music, premiering over fifty new works in the last three years alone. Incorporating amplification and improvisation into their performances, Ethel’s style is infused with traces of jazz and rock and roll, culminating in a unique and powerful voice.
Released six years after their previous album Light, Ethel’s Heavy marks the group’s third self-produced album. The packaging, designed like a 7” EP with cover art fitting of a rock band, hints at the music found on the CD. But it’s the album’s title that is a dead giveaway for what the listener is in for: a sustained, in-your-face sound that borders on the edge of rock and roll at times—a sound that Ethel achieves remarkably well.
Ethel – Photo by James Ewing
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Posted by David Pearson »
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What was most captivating about Eclipse String Quartet’s March 22 performance at Roulette in Brooklyn was the clarity with which each melodic line sung through the hall. Every instrument and player brought their own qualities that were never lost in the ensemble, while at the same time coming together in conversation and moments of blend. This was particularly important given their choice of Ruth Crawford’s String Quartet, a highly contrapuntal work rich in dialogue.
Eclipse Quartet - Photo by Stanford Lee Wilson
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Posted by David Pearson »
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The versatile Brooklyn Rider String Quartet is one of a number of chamber groups seeking to take the classical tradition out of its well-worn ruts, give it a fresh perspective, infuse it with the new and emerging, and bring it to new audiences. Its latest endeavor in that regard is something seemingly counter-intuitive: recording Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. This makes Seven Steps, its latest album on In a Circle Records, something truly substantive and free for the most part of the gimmickry and low-quality “crossover” that mires too many contemporary classical recordings. The album also features a collective composition / improvisation by Brooklyn Rider called Seven Steps, as well as Together Into This Unknowable Night, a piece for string quartet and electronics by NYC-based composer Christopher Tignor.
Brooklyn Rider – Photograph by Sarah Small
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Posted by Andrew Lee »
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I used to be able to count the number of profound, live musical experiences I’ve had on one hand. It began with the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin performing an arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, op. 70. 
The second movement was perfection, and the violin/cello duet therein left me with an indelible memory of the event. The next such performance was hearing Krystian Zimerman perform Chopin’s Ballade no. 4 in F minor, op. 52. I had heard recordings of this piece, live performances, and had even played it myself, but this was a revelation. The lessons I learned about pacing, rubato, and control from a single note in ms. 56 I’ve not forgotten.
More recently, the most stunning experiences I’ve had have been of new music: Charlemagne Palestine performing Schlingen-Blängen, hearing MAX!MAL BL!NDMAN give a concert in Belgium, and spending far too little time in La Monte Young’s Dream House. Now I’m going to have to add the JACK Quartet’s “In the Dark” concert to this rather exclusive list. I will not soon forget their performance; this program is not to be missed.
JACK Quartet. Photo credit: Stephen Poff.
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Posted by Thomas Deneuville »
2 Comments »This Wednesday, the French Institute Alliance Francause (FIAF) presented a concert featuring French stars of Young Concert Artists (YCA). In over 50 season, the YCA, founded by Susan Wadsworth, has helped emerging artists to launch their careers. Former price laureates include Dawn Upshaw, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Emmanuel Ax, etc.
Pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and the Modigliani Quartet were sharing the bill tonight. A laureate of YCA back in 1986, Bavouzet was just back from a north American tour while the Quartet will be heard in Australia and Japan later this year.
The Modogliani opened with Haydn’s quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4 (“Sunrise”). The four (very) young men (Philippe Bernhard, Loïc Rio, Laurent Marfaing, and François Kieffer) revealed, with great delight, the warm colors of the Allegro con spirito. The sound was rich and balanced (especially during the imitative section of the Finale). The Adagio showed that they were as comfortable in slow tempi, and their sober lyricism finished to convince the audience that they are not a young sensation, but an already mature formation. I would love to hear them in a more recent repertoire (a Glass quartet? Different Trains?).
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