The Howland Chamber Music Circle (HCMC) on Oct. 21 will present string quartet Brooklyn Rider, consisting of Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violin, Nicholas Cords, viola, and Eric Jacobsen, cello.
NPR praised Brooklyn Rider for “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.” The musicians play in venues as varied as Joe’s Pub and Alice Tully Hall in New York City, Tdai-ji Temple in Japan, the Library of Congress, San Francisco Jazz, and the South by Southwest Festival.
During the 2011-1012 season, Brooklyn Rider celebrated its Carnegie Hall debut at Zankel Hall and embarked on two U.S. tours and its first trip to China, with concerts in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Born of a desire to use the medium of the string quartet as a vehicle for communication across a large section of history and geography, Brooklyn Rider is equally devoted to the interpretation of classical quartet literature and to the creation of new works. The musicians worked with several contemporary composers such as Philip Glass, and they also regularly perform pieces written or arranged by members of the group. Their desire to extend the borders of conventional string quartet programming has come from their longstanding participation in Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and they have been involved in a series of museum residencies.
For its concert at the Howland Center, the quartet has chosen to perform a program of works that span three centuries: Seven Steps by Brooklyn Rider, the String Quartet No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 12 by Felix Mendelsohn, Culai by Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin, Three Pieces for String Quartet by Igor Stravinsky, String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67 by Bela Bartok, and Persian Miniatures for String Quartet by Colin Jacobsen.
The concert will take place on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 4 p.m. at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St. in Beacon, and will be followed by a reception to meet the artists.
Tickets are $30 ($10 for students) and can be reserved by calling 845-297-9243 or on the Chamber Music Circle’s website howlandmusic.org where further information on this and other presentations by HCMC can be found.
