Spektral Quartet is a string quartet based in Chicago comprising Clara Lyon (violin), Theo Espy (violin), Doyle Armbrust (viola) and Russell Rolen (cello).[1] The ensemble was founded in 2010 and was active until 2022. Spektral Quartet served as the ensemble-in-residence at the University of Chicago's Department of Music from 2012 to 2018.[2]
Spektral Quartet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, United States |
| Genres | Classical, Contemporary classical music |
| Occupation | String quartet |
| Instrument(s) | 2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello |
| Years active | 2010–2022 |
| Labels | Sono Luminus, Azica Records, Parlour Tapes+, New Amsterdam Records |
| Members | Clara Lyon (violin) Theo Espy (violin) Doyle Armbrust (viola) Russell Rolen (cello) |
| Past members | Aurelien Fort Pederzoli (violin) J. Austin Wulliman (violin) |
| Website | www |
The New York Times said of a 2016 performance of Beat Furrer's String Quartet No. 3 and Hans Thomalla's Bagatellen for string quartet, "The quartet proved that they have everything: a supreme technical command that seems to come easily [and] a capacity to make complicated music clear..."[3] Spektral Quartet says it "actively pursues a vivid conversation between exhilarating works of the traditional canon and those written this decade, this year, or this week."[4]
History
editThe quartet's 2014 project Mobile Miniatures involved 47 composers, including Nico Muhly, David Lang, and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, who were commissioned to write ringtone-length pieces that were then recorded by Spektral Quartet and made available for download as ringtone, alarms, and text-message alerts on mobile devices.[5]
The group recorded its debut album, Chambers (on Parlour Tapes+),[6] in 2013 in collaboration with composers Hans Thomalla, Marcos Balter, LJ White, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, and Ben Hjertmann. Also in 2013, the group released From This Point Forward (on Azica Records),[7] with bandoneon/accordion virtuoso Julien Labro and saxophone player Miguel Zenón. The band appeared on Swiss violin soloist Rachel Kolly d'Alba's 2015 record, Fin de siècle (Aparté),[8] performing Ernest Chausson’s Concerto for Violin, Piano, and String Quartet and is featured on albums from composers Augusta Read Thomas and Ryan Ingebritsen.
In 2016, the group released Serious Business (on Sono Luminus),[9] which was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award.[10] The album that explores humor in classical music through the compositional lenses of Josef Haydn, Sky Macklay, Chris Fisher-Lochhead, and David Reminick. The Strad magazine said of the album, "these are superb performances, vivid and strongly felt, convincingly argued and full of rich, characterful detail."[11] The Spektral Quartet created the Feldman Forward Initiative to help raise money for GirlForward, an organization that assist refugee girls who have resettled in Chicago, Illinois and in Austin, Texas, and challenged attendees at its Chicago premiere of Morton Feldman’s Quartet No. 2 on March 11 by promising for every man who stayed for the entirety of five-hours a donation in his name would be made.
In 2019, Nathalie Joachim's album Fanm d'Ayiti, which featured the group, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.[12]
Albums
edit- Chambers (2013) Parlour Tapes+[13]
- From This Point Forward (2013) Azica Records
- with Julien Labro (bandoneon/accordion)
- with special guest Miguel Zenón[14]
- Serious Business (2016) Sono Luminus[15]
- Behind the Wallpaper (2023) New Amsterdam Records[16]
- by composer Alex Temple
- with Julia Holter (voice)
Albums featuring Spektral Quartet
edit- Fin de siècle (2015) Aparté[17]
- Of Being is a Bird (2016) Nimbus Records[18]
- Fanm d'Ayiti (2019) New Amsterdam Records[19]
Articles and reviews
edit- Chicago Reader: Spektral Quartet give difficult music a friendly face (Jan 20, 2016)
- New York Times: Review: Frequency Festival Offers in Chicago Offers the Complicated and Compelling (Mar 1, 2016)
- Boston Globe: For Spektral Quartet, modern music mixes well with humor (Mar 11, 2016)
- WQXR Q2 Music: Humor and Fiendish Difficulty in Spektral Quartet's 'Serious Business' (Jan 18, 2016)
- WQXR Q2 Music: 10 Imagination-Grabbing, Trailblazing Artists of 2014 (Dec 15, 2014)
- Pitchfork: Mobile Miniatures: Download Ringtones Composed by Nico Muhly, Julia Holter, Dirty Projectors' Olga Bell, and More (May 13, 2014)
- Chicago Tribune: Spektral Quartet dials up micro-symphonies for cellphone (Nov 26, 2013)
References
edit- ^ "Ensemble". Spektral Quartet. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- ^ "Spektral Quartet | University of Chicago Presents". chicagopresents.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- ^ Allen, David (2016-03-01). "Review: Frequency Festival in Chicago Offers the Complicated and Compelling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- ^ "Ensemble". Spektral Quartet.
- ^ "Mobile Miniatures". Spektral Quartet. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ "CHAMBERS, by Spektral Quartet". Parlour Tapes+. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
- ^ "Julien Labro & the Spektral Quartet From this Point Forward | Azica Records Online". azica.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ "Chausson – Franck | Aparte Music". www.apartemusic.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ "Sono Luminus - Serious Business". www.sonoluminus.com. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ "Chicago a prominent presence among 2017 Grammy nominations". Chicago Sun-Times. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Serious Business. Fisher-Lochhead: Hack. Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major op.33 no.2 'Joke'. Macklay: Many Many Cadences. Reminick: The Ancestral Mousetrap Spektral Quartet - The Strad". The Strad. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
- ^ Yglesias, Ana Monroy (2020-01-16). "Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Nathalie Joach". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
- ^ "CHAMBERS, by Spektral Quartet". Parlour Tapes+. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Julien Labro & the Spectral QuartetFrom this Point Forward | Azica Records Online". azica.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Sono Luminus - Serious Business". www.sonoluminus.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Spektral Quartet, With Julia Holter and Alex Temple, Release a Masterpiece: Behind the Wallpaper - SPIN". Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ "Chausson – Franck | Aparte Music". www.apartemusic.com. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Augusta Read Thomas: Of Being Is A Bird". www.wyastone.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
- ^ "Nathalie Joachim: Fanm d'Ayiti". www.nathaliejoachim.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 2020-10-02.