BACKBrooklyn Rider, the dynamic New York quartet, will be showcasing their own brand of creative programming in their upcoming European tour, which kicks off in Copenhagen on Tuesday. The group’s combination of limitless innovation and passion for new music has transformed the 300-year-old form of the string quartet into a signature 21st century ensemble. Their love of new music also inspired the Brooklyn Rider Almanac, which began in 2012, and continues its on-going commissioning project. So far they’ve commissioned 15 new works from a diverse list of musicians in the worlds of jazz, rock, pop, and folk. Brooklyn Rider recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds for an ambitious complementary body of work directly related to the commissioned music. This will include videos, animation, choreography, photo essays, articles, interviews, remixes, and much more. So far Brooklyn Rider have raised over $22,000 of their $40,000 goal.
The 8-date European tour will include a blend of classic quartet repertoire and new works that challenge genre boundaries. Clubs and concert halls across Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the UK can expect to hear works from the group’s 2013 Mercury Classics release A Walking Fire, including Bartók’s String Quartet No. 2, Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin’s Culai, and Three Miniatures by Brooklyn Rider’s Colin Jacobsen, with the addition of music by Philip Glass, Franz Schubert and the premiere of String Quartet No.1 by Swedish composer Tobias Broström on 23rd and 24th April. Brooklyn Rider will also perform at Yellow Lounge in Stockholm on 26th April collaborating with DJs and VJs at Fotografiska. The tour culminates in a late night performance at London’s Wigmore Hall on 2nd May.
Check out a video of Colin Jacobsen’s A Walking Fire here: