Brooklyn Rider plays Ravinia, Lincoln Center and more this summer
Brooklyn Rider – riding high with the hit album A Walking Fire – will play top festivals on tour this summer, ranging from Ravinia to Caramoor to Lincoln Center, from California to Minnesota to Maine. As the Huffington Post has pointed out, this new-era string quartet has “emerged triumphantly as a headliner.” A Walking Fire, Brooklyn Rider’s debut release for Mercury Classics, will provide the repertoire for much of the group’s performances, including Bartók’s String Quartet No. 2 and compositions by Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin and Brooklyn Rider’s own Colin Jacobsen. The quartet – violinists Johnny Gandelsman and Colin Jacobsen, violist Nicholas Cords and cellist Eric Jacobsen – will also perform Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor K. 421 on multiple dates, as well as compositions by John Zorn and Evan Ziporyn.
Brooklyn Rider’s summer season begins on July 3 at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA, where the quartet will play Mozart’s String Quartet K. 421 and Bartók’s Second String Quartet plus Ljova’s Budget Bulgar and Colin Jacobsen’s Three Miniatures for String Quartet and Brooklesca. The group will repeat this program on July 7 at the Caramoor festival in Katonah, NY; on July 11 for Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, ME; and on July 16 at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL. On July 12 for Bay Chamber Concerts, Brooklyn Rider will team with harpist Bridget Kibbey to perform Debussy’s Danses sacrée et profane, plus João Gilberto’s “Undiú” arranged by Colin Jacobsen and a Romanian traditional song arranged by Ljova. The group will also showcase repertoire from A Walking Fire for the Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society on July 18.
On July 20, as part of the Lincoln Center Festival’s “Zorn@60” tribute to ever-intrepid saxophonist-composer John Zorn – a downtown New York icon – Brooklyn Rider will join forces with the JACK Quartet and Alchemy Quartet to perform his composition Kol Nidre. At the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival in New York, on August 17, Brooklyn Rider will perform works from A Walking Fire, as well as fiddler-composer Dana Lyn’s Maintenance Music.
Stillwater Music Festival 2013
Now in its eighth season, the Stillwater Music Festival is a weeklong festival founded and led by Brooklyn Rider in Stillwater, Minnesota, which offers a platform for the quartet – three of whose members have Minnesota roots – to work with old friends and new partners in a familiar setting. Events take place in the Stillwater area, with the Washington County Historic Courthouse serving as the principal concert home. Last season’s festival featured collaborations with cellist Edward Arron, kamancheh master Kayhan Kalhor, and 14-time Grammy Award-winning banjo player Béla Fleck.
On August 22, Brooklyn Rider launches the 2013 Stillwater Music Festival with a program that includes works from recent installments of their ongoing Brooklyn Rider Almanac, Bartók’s String Quartet No. 2, and Mozart’s String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421. The group will later be joined by colleagues from Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, to which all four quartet members also belong. Wu Man, virtuoso of the pipa, Sandeep Das, leading exponent of the tabla, and clarinetist/composer Evan Ziporyn all team up with the quartet for events including a family concert on August 26 and the festival finale on August 27. Highlights of this final program include the world premiere of Ziporyn’s Qi for string quartet; Ziporyn’s Sulvasutra, a Silk Road Project commission; and Brooklesca, Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen’s signature work for the ensemble, in an expanded version that is also scored for pipa, tabla, and clarinet.
“As with seasons past, we are excited to invite some of our dearest musical friends,” says Brooklyn Rider violist Nicholas Cords. “Wu Man, back by popular demand, was with us six years ago. Sandeep is a first-time guest to the Stillwater area and is a totally awe-inspiring and generous performer. And Evan’s music creates the perfect setting for all of us to come together. This summer really focuses on things that we care deeply about – exploring great works from the string quartet tradition, bringing new works to life, and collaborating with friends.”
Brooklyn Rider: upcoming appearances
July 3, 2013, 8:00 pm
Santa Barbara, CA
Music Academy of the West
Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Budget Bulgar
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Brooklesca
July 7, 2013, 4:30 pm
Katonah, NY
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Budget Bulgar
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Brooklesca
July 11, 2013, 7:30 pm
Rockport, ME
Bay Chamber Concerts
Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Budget Bulgar
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Brooklesca
July 12, 2013, 9:00 pm
Rockport, ME
Bay Chamber Concerts
With Bridget Kibbey, harp
Debussy: Danses sacrée et profane
João Gilberto: Undiú (arr Colin Jacobsen)
Romanian traditional, arr. Ljova: Music of the Roma
Other selections to be announced
July 16, 2013, 8:00 pm
Highland Park, IL
Ravinia Festival
Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Budget Bulgar
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Brooklesca (Midwest premiere)
July 18, 2013, 7:30 pm
Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Culai
Romanian traditional, arr. Ljova: Music of the Roma
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
July 20, 2013, 8:00 pm
New York, NY
Lincoln Center Festival
John Zorn: Kol Nidre
Aug 17, 2013, 6:30 pm
Bridgehampton, NY
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival
Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin: Budget Bulgar
Dana Lyn: Maintenance Music
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
C. Jacobsen: Three Miniatures for String Quartet
Aug 22, 2013
Stillwater, MN
Stillwater Music Festival
Mozart: String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421
Brooklyn Rider Almanac (premieres)
Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67
Romanian traditional tunes (TBA)
Aug 26, 2013
Stillwater, MN
Stillwater Music Festival
Family concert, featuring Wu Man (pipa); Sandeep Das (tabla); Evan Ziporyn (clarinet)
Aug 27, 2013
Stillwater, MN
Stillwater Music Festival
Festival finale, featuring Wu Man (pipa); Sandeep Das (tabla); Evan Ziporyn (clarinet)
Ziporyn: Sulvasutra
Ziporyn: Qi (world premiere for string quartet)
C. Jacobsen: Brooklesca
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© 21C Media Group, June 2013