California's Calder Quartet comes to Seattle's Meany Hall with a program that includes a string quartet by Jacob ter Veldhuis, inspired by the song "All Along the Watchtower."Full Article
The Calder Quartet takes its exciting and innovative musical inspiration from contemporary artist Alexander Calder, known for his large-scale, abstract sculptures and mobiles.
In January, I saw an unforgettably strange concert at the small NYC theater Le Poisson Rouge. Andrew W.K.-- party-rock force of nature and living animated .gif of a David Lee Roth jump-kick-- shared the stage, or jostled maniacally for it, with the Calder Quartet.Full Article
A partnership between the Akron Art Museum and Tuesday Musical Association of Akron has produced the Fuze! Series, which opened its new season at the museum on Friday, February 17. A similar partnership between the featured performers — the Calder String Quartet and the Czech-Moravian vocalist and violinist Iva Bittová — results in the kind of synthesis between classically trained musicians and other forms of musical art and media that Fuze! is all about discovering and presenting in the attractive, 160-seat auditorium at the Museum. That being said, Calder + Bittová is difficult to describe. You really do have to be there to get the whole effect.Download PDF | Full Article
Welcome Inn in Eagle Rock doesn’t look much changed for maybe half a century. Rooms are $49.95 and have that motel smell. There are more modern motels along Colorado Boulevard, and they had vacancies when I drove by Sunday afternoon. Not Welcome Inn. And for a very good reason.Download PDF | Full Article
Andrew W.K. joined the Calder Quartet on Sunday at Le Poisson Rouge for a medley of classical songs and AWK originals. Photos by Alix Piorun.Full Article
A stupendous spinner of sorrowful songs, Henryk Górecki left us with all we could possibly need to mourn him. So Saturday night, a year after his death, the new music series Jacaranda was at no loss for material with which to remember the wondrous Polish composer whose sad but transcendent Third Symphony became an international sensation in the 1990s.Still, it wasn’t just a haunting melancholy that made Górecki great. It was his vitality. A living heartbeat is palpable in every measure he wrote, no matter how slowly the music moved. He was also funny -– wacky, even. And extraordinarily physical. He had a resonant keyboard technique that could make any piano sound twice as large as it was. The centerpiece of Jacaranda’s all-Górecki program was a performance of “Quasi una Fantasia,” the composer’s second string quartet. Written for the Kronos Quartet in 1991, the 33-minute score, which is bitter and sweet, was performed with a radiant warmth at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica on Saturday (with a repeat Sunday evening) by the Calder Quartet.Download PDF | Full Article
In a lucky stroke for fans of new music, it seemed to be Thomas Adès Week in the Bay Area over the past few days. San Francisco Symphony led off, with performances of the composer’s Polaris: Voyage for the Orchestra (with film by Tal Rosner), followed Sunday by the Calder Quartet’s appearance at Cal Performances’ Hertz Hall in a mostly-Adès program, joined by the composer himself on piano.The Berkeley recital featured works Adès composed between 1994 and 2010, taking him from audacious youth to his current brilliant maturity.Download PDF | Full Article
The young players (and their mentor) perform to raise money so they can commission new works.Los Angeles is teeming with places to perform if you're a rock band stoking dreams of becoming the next Arcade Fire, but what about a classically trained string quartet, one that can play with party guru Andrew WK or the National's stormy rock? The art world, ready to foster the kind of cross-pollination that sparked between Merce Cunningham and John Cage, is ready to receive you with open arms.It's a good thing, too, in a city where genre-jumping musicians have few mid-level-sized homes. Either play in the splendor of Walt Disney Concert Hall or the tiny confines of the Smell or Pehrspace. Or, in the case of local heroes Calder Quartet, talk to Tim Blum, co-owner of Culver City's prestigious Blum & Poe gallery.Download PDF | Full Article
The composer Christopher Rouse, in an onstage conversation during a concert of his works presented at Zankel Hall on Friday evening, described one of the primary urges in his music with a striking line: “Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.” He credited the saying to Mark Twain, though evidence points to Edwin H. Land, the inventor of Polaroid instant photography. (Famous quotations, like small children, are irresistible to bring up in conversation and nearly impossible to pin down.)
Regardless, Mr. Rouse’s point was on the money. Responding to what he described as “the moderato, mezzo forte syndrome — everything was kind of not too fast, not too slow, not too loud, not too soft,” he developed a style marked by infectious vitality, abundant energy and dynamic extremes. Diverse as the four works presented during this Making Music program were, each demonstrated those signature traits.
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Viva! & Gala series presented fiddler and vocalist Iva Bittová and the young and ambitious Calder Quartet on Friday evening, February 18, in an unusual and brilliant show (their word, not mine) that combined classical and folk music, improvisation, theater and avant garde vocal performance. It will easily qualify as one of the outstanding musical events of the current season.
People often call voices instruments, but in the case of Iva Bittova, no other word applies. Her throat is truly a musical tool, a powerful, widely adaptable implement at her disposal.Bittova, a New York-based vocalist, violinist, and composer specializing in Czech culture, was the featured guest on a fascinating program Friday at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Appearing with the Los Angeles-based Calder Quartet, Bittova repeatedly found ways to weave her voice into complex fabrics of strings, creating one bewitching tapestry after another.
At home in Los Angeles the pianist Gloria Cheng is a celebrity: an invaluable new-music advocate and a preferred collaborator of composers like Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen. A review of a recital Ms. Cheng presented at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in September breathlessly conjured a heady, star-studded scene. But Ms. Cheng’s copious gifts are scarcely a mystery here, a point proved by the sizable, luminary-filled throng that assembled for one of her too infrequent New York appearances, at Le Poisson Rouge on Wednesday night.Ms. Cheng’s program, characteristically adventurous and filled with meaningful interrelations, largely duplicated that of her September event. But here she was joined by the Calder Quartet, an outstanding California ensemble that New Yorkers got to know during its graduate residency at the Juilliard School from 2005 to 2007.Download PDF | Full Article
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - Calder Quartet mesmerizing in new Kate Moore piece at ArtPower concert at UCSD 11/18 2010Full ArticleSANDIEGO.COM - Calder Quartet Plays Kate Moore for UCSD's ArtPower 11/18 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleTHE WASHINGTON POST - 'How Sweet the Sound' gospel competition; Calder Quartet; Left Bank Quartet 11/15 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleABC AUSTRALIA - ABC Australia interview 10/09 2010Full ArticleTHE HARTFORD COURANT - Christopher Rouse At The International Festival of Arts and Ideas 06/29 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleDOWNTOWNBLOG.COM - Calder Quartet's Eric Byers 05/12 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleGREENVILLE NEWS - Calder Quartet offer polished performance at the Peace Center 05/09 2010Download PDFTHE NEW YORK TIMES - Music With and Without Musicians 04/21 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleSANDIEGO.COM - Not your typical easy-listening string quartet 04/16 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleCONCERTONET - Tradition and the String Quartet in the 21st century 03/18 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleUC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDER - Bartok Played Brilliantly 03/09 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleTHE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - Six string works to be performed in two concerts 02/03 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleTHE JUILLIARD JOURNAL - 2 Composers of Today, Drawing Inspiration From the Past 02/01 2010Download PDF | Full ArticleSTRINGS MAGAZINE - Calder Quartet Tackles Rouse's Modern Vision 01/21 2010Full ArticleGRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE - Rouse's Disquieting Quartets are Given Powerful Performances by the Calder 01/01 2010Download PDFLOS ANGELES TIMES - The Calder Quartet is always ready to stretch boundaries 12/02 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleGUARDIAN UK - Party hard with the Calder Quartet 11/03 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleLOS ANGELES TIMES - Music review: Gloria Cheng and Piano Spheres at Zipper Hall 10/14 2009Download PDF | Full ArticlePUNKNEWS - Andrew W.K. & The Calder Quartet 10/09 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleLOS ANGELES TIMES - Live review: Andrew W.K. lets absurdism flow at Largo 10/09 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleSF WEEKLY - Last Night: Andrew W.K. and Calder Quartet at Swedish American Hall 10/08 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleMIXTAPES|HEARTBREAKS BLOG - i never thought i’d yell ‘i get wet’ in the presence of a string quartet 10/08 2009Full ArticleSPINNING PLATTERS - Show Review: Andrew W.K. & Calder Quartet at Swedish American Hall, 10/7/09 10/07 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleBOSTON HERALD - Andrew W.K., strings attached 10/01 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleGRINDINGTAPES BLOG - Andrew W.K. in Concert. Contemporary Classical Concert. - GrindingTapes, 10/01 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleIDOLATOR - Andrew W.K. Will Not Take You to Church 09/30 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleRIVERFRONT TIMES - On the Road Again: Andrew W.K. and the Calder Quartet in Boston 09/30 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleWEEKEND PARTYUP DATE BLOG - ANDREW W.K. & THE CALDER QUARTET 09/30 2009Full ArticleON A FRIDAY - Live:: Andrew W.K. & Calder Quartet at the Coolidge Corner Theatre 09/30 2009Download PDFFLAVORPILL - Calder Quartet & Andrew W.K. 09/29 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleTHE NEW YORK TIMES - The Week Ahead: Sept. 27 — Oct. 3 09/27 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleBROOKLYN VEGAN - Andrew W.K., Calder Quartet shows coming up 09/26 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleBOSTON SURVIVAL GUIDE - Show Preview: Andrew W.K. & Calder Quartet ~ Piano and Strings ~ Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline ~ Tuesday, September 29 09/24 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleDMVCLASSICAL BLOG - Unearned Intimacy: Calder Quartet at the University of Maryland 09/23 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleNORTH COUNTY TIMES - New directions: Carlsbad Music Festival returns with largest-ever slate of world premieres 09/23 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleSANDIEGO.COM - Calder Quartet at UC San Diego's Mandeville Auditorium 04/26 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleSO I'VE HEARD BLOG - Devastation 03/22 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleGRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE - Stylish and Satisfying Debut From This Promising Young LA-based Ensemble 03/01 2009Download PDFPALM BEACH ARTS PAPER - Frith's 'Lelekovice' inspires on Strong Calder Quartet Concert 01/29 2009Download PDF | Full ArticleWNYC - Calder Quartet Performance Named "Best of 2008" on WNYC 01/16 2009Full ArticleLOS ANGELES TIMES - Calder Quartet at Zipper Hall 12/08 2008Download PDF | Full ArticleTHE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER - Calder Quartet gives cool, intense performance in Shaker Heights 11/21 2008Full ArticleSCENE MAGAZINE - Cma Leads This Week's Arts Picks 11/19 2008Full ArticleTINY MIX TAPES BLOG - Tiny Mix Tapes Reviews our NYC Concert!" - Tiny Mix Tapes, 11/15 2008Download PDFSTRAD MAGAZINE - The STRAD Selection 09/30 2008Download PDFLOS ANGELES TIMES - In downtown L.A., a fresh mix of new music sounds, via San Diego 09/22 2008Download PDF | Full ArticlePRESS ENTERPRISE - Carlsbad Music Festival offers a taste of the eclectic 09/19 2008Download PDF | Full ArticleVOICE OF SAN DIEGO - Old, New California in Tune at Carlsbad 09/18 2008Download PDF | Full ArticleAUDIOPHILE AUDITION - Audiophile Audition Gives Album a Positive Review 07/09 2008Download PDFSTAR TELEGRAM - The Art of Brilliant Chamber Music 06/26 2008Download PDFTHE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER - String Quartets by Ravel, Ades and Mozart 06/26 2008Download PDF | Full ArticleSTRINGS MAGAZINE - Spin of the Week 06/19 2008Download PDFTHE WASHINGTON POST - The Calder Quartet excelled in its challenging, esoteric repertoire at the Barns at Wolf Trap on Friday night. 04/14 2008Download PDFTALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT - Calder Quartet Shows Strength for Artist Series 01/21 2008Download PDFLOS ANGELES TIMES - Calder Crosses the Ages with Ease 12/20 2007Download PDFLOS ANGELES TIMES - A Taste of the Carlsbad Music Festival-- in forward and reverse 09/26 2007Download PDF