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Cool Strings: Brooklyn Rider

String Quartet Brooklyn Rider performs Live in IPR's Studio A.

Brooklyn Rider takes the idea of the string quartet to a new level.  Already champions of new music and fresh approaches, the Brooklyn, NY-based group stretch the boundaries of the classic quartet, adding unusual instruments and other forms of art to the mix.  In their Studio A session, they treated us to terrific, high-energy performances of, "Doina Oltului," a Roma-inspired piece, and, "Ascending Bird," originally arranged for quartet and Persian Fiddle (kamancheh).
 

Taking inspiration from Der Blau Reiter (The Blue Rider), a pre-WWI group of artists based in Munich, Brooklyn Rider draws on the world's cultures and different art forms to enhance their music.  They've worked with choreographers, visual artists, singer-songwriters, and The Silk Road Ensemble, creating unique collaborations. Instruments paired with their quartet include the Chinese pipa, Persian kamanche, Irish fiddle - even traditional and technology-based Japanese shakuhachi.

The end result of this experimentation is a rich and wonderfully approachable sound - there's novelty in it, but also an obvious respect for what made string quartets great in the first place.  On their albums, you'll find creative pairings like brand-new and lyrical works by Russian composer Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin and Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen next to classic quartets by Dvorak.

Brooklyn Rider was in town to promote their concert in Corson Auditorium with banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck.  Fleck composed, "Night Flight Over Water​," a quintet for banjo and strings, that served as the musical foundation for the evening.

Kate Botello is a host and producer at Classical IPR.