‘Superb’The New York Times

‘The Calder’s Beethoven was full of flaring drama, furrowed brows and quiet intensity. But, with the tightest of ensemble playing and well-judged balancing of instrumental voices, the piece retained its classical integrity and polished finish.’The Washington Post

'Tuesday’s concert by the superb Calder Quartet showed that the time-honored string quartet format still provides fertile ground for innovation and surprise in the hands of imaginative, skillful creators.'The New York Times

'Calder Quartet played some formidable Mozart and Beethoven'Alex Ross, The New Yorker

'I've written before that every time I hear the Calder, the ensemble seems to have reached a new level. That remains true, and now only the stars are the limit, as the Calder takes its place as one of America's most satisfying -- and most enterprising -- quartets.'Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times

'Full marks to the Edinburgh Festival for enticing the Calder Quartet, which, on yesterday’s evidence, sits well among the US top tier.'The Scotsman

'The Calder Quartet played the most insightful and moving performance of Thomas Adès's Arcadiana I've ever heard.'Tom Service, The Guardian UK

'The Calder's passionate engagement with the music was notable; so was their pinpoint control and near-flawless execution.'Boston Globe

'tremendous conviction'Cleveland Plain Dealer

'Performances like these — freshly rethought, impeccably played — do more than provide enjoyable listening. They reveal hidden dimensions, renew a bond with the composer, and justify the continuance of familiar works in the repertory.' - Boston Globe

Presscalderquartet
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - Esa-Pekka Salonen review: powerful punch

There will be plenty of opportunities this weekend to appreciate Esa-Pekka Salonen's gifts as a conductor in the Berkeley concerts he's leading with the Philharmonia Orchestra. But before we get to that, what an extraordinary composer he is!Thursday's "Composer Portrait" concert in Hertz Hall, the opening salvo of Salonen's Berkeley residency presented by Cal Performances, was a nonstop explosion of delight and amazement.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE - Nancarrow's Genius Celebrated by Other Minds

Samuel Johnson averred that love could not be “otherwise than blind” without a comparison. In a revelatory series of three concerts, Other Minds’ Charles Amirkhanian provided lovers of maverick American composer Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997) some Other Geniuses to comparison-shop against. Sponsored by OM and a team of organizations including Cal Performances, the concerts at UC Berkeley’s Hertz Hall were a scene of fascination for the 200-300 attendees at the performances, two Saturday and one Sunday.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
CLASSICAL SONOMA - Adés' Arcadiana Highlights Quartet Concert in Mill Valley Chamber Series

The Calder Quartet saved the day Nov. 4 by stepping in at last minute to play for the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society’s second concert of this season. Originally set to appear was the Prague-based Prazak Quartet which cancelled due to an ill violinist. The Calder Quartet had performed the previous night in Berkeley. In the East Bay concert substantial works were programmed, including Bartok’s 1934 Fifth Quartet, Adés' The Four Quarters and three Conlon Nancarrow pieces. With such a daunting program Saturday night, one would predict the Quartet to be exhausted on Sunday.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - A good day for Aaron Jay Kernis at SummerFest

As Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis explained from the Sherwood Auditorium stage Friday, he was having a very good month.

His newest piece, “Perpetual Chaconne,” had been premiered at Chamber Music Northwest two weeks earlier. Now it was about to be played at the La Jolla Music Society SummerFest and was scheduled for another performance this week at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival.

But after clarinetist John Bruce Yeh and the Calder Quartet finished with Kernis’ 18-minute piece Friday, you had to believe that Kernis’ month got even better.

Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
BOSTON GLOBE - Calder Quartet delivers ageless golden performance

ROCKPORT - A certain kind of music fan insists that things aren't as good as they were in some golden age, some decades ago. Past performers had more personality, gave the music more character, and were more interesting, so this thinking goes. It's an attitude that dovetails nicely - or perniciously - with classical music's general fixation on of its own past.It's nonsense, of course. I'm increasingly convinced we are living through our own golden age of performance, particularly when it comes to string quartets. There is an astonishing number of young quartets with high technique levels and fresh approaches to both familiar works and fresh concert programming.A case in point is the superb Calder Quartet, who played the first of two concerts at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival on Thursday.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
THE BOSTON MUSIC INTELLIGENCER - Fab Four: Calder Quartet at Rockport

Last night four young guys in black suits, white shirts, and skinny black ties took the stage of the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport: Benjamin Jacobson (first violin), Andrew Bulbrook (second violin), Jonathan Moerschel (viola), and Eric Byers (cello) are the Calder Quartet. The concert it presented was no less fabulous for its wielding different axes from that earlier Fab Four. With established works by Mozart and Mendelssohn bracketing newer commissions by Adès and Norman (and an encore), the Calder Quartet gave spirited and energetic readings as part of its ongoing efforts to re-imagine a string quartet for the 21st century.Download PDFFull Article

Presscalderquartet
THE NEW YORK TIMES - Building Sonic Textures On Buzzes and Pulses

Collaboration, the odder the better, is the engine that drives the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall. You can think of Judd Greenstein, the composer who assembles its programs, as a mischievous matchmaker who dreams up blind dates that seem as likely to create sparks as to create harmony.ArtsBeatMr. Greenstein must have been feeling especially daring when he drew up the program for Tuesday evening. The first half offered separate performances by the Now Ensemble, a hybrid chamber group and jazz-rock band, and the Calder Quartet, which is known for a repertory that includes both standard string quartets and adventurous new works.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND - Live Review: Dan Deacon, NOW Ensemble, and Calder Quartet at Ecstatic Music Festival (3/20)

At last year’s Ecstatic Music Festival, Dan Deacon created a bit of a stir when, for 10 minutes, the audience listened to the sound of soda draining from microphoned two-liter bottles. Things got uncomfortable. Grievances were audibly uttered. Deacon likes to stretch things out, to see how far they’ll go, to make people a little uncomfortable. But his aim is true: He does it for fun, and he hopes you’ll see the humor and absurdity of his twisted ideas and find some joy in them.Download PDF | Full Article

Presscalderquartet
New Sounds Live on WNYC - Ecstatic Music Festival: Dan Deacon with NOW Ensemble & the Calder Quartet

The celebrated New York-born composer and electronic musician Dan Deacon returns to the Ecstatic Music Festival following last year’s sold-out collaboration with So Percussion. This time around, Deacon has prepared a series of new works for two chamber groups: NOW Ensemble, dubbed “a deft young group gaining attention” (New Yorker), and the “outstanding” (New York Times) Calder Quartet.Listen to the show here.

Presscalderquartet