92NY to Present Isidore String Quartet Featuring Billy Childs NY Premiere
Tickets start at $45 in-person and $25 to livestream and are available now.
The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) will present Isidore String Quartet in Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center, 92NY, 1395 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10128, on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM. Tickets start at $45 in-person and $25 to livestream and are available now.
The Isidore String Quartet has catapulted from budding ensemble to breakout quartet to one of the world's most in-demand chamber groups. They return following their triumphant NYC mainstage debut on our stage in 2024. The NYC-based quartet is heavily influenced by the legendary Juilliard String Quartet and the idea of "approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established." Their program features a new work by American composer Billy Childs, whose music has been championed by artists from Esa-Pekka Salonen to the Kronos Quartet - and by the Isidore String Quartet since their inception - bookended by quartets by Haydn and Brahms.
Program
Franz Josef Haydn String Quartet in B-flat Major, Op. 76, No. 4, "Sunrise"
Billy Childs String Quartet No. 4, American Mosaic* (NY premiere)
Johannes Brahms String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat Major, Op. 67
*Commissioned by Music Accord in partnership with Shriver Hall Concert Series, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and The 92nd Street Y, New York
Winners of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the 14th Banff International String Quartet
Competition in 2022, the New York City-based Isidore String Quartet was formed in 2019 with a vision to revisit, rediscover, and reinvigorate the repertory. The quartet is heavily influenced by the Juilliard String Quartet and the idea of 'approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established.'
The quartet began as an ensemble at the Juilliard School, and has coached with Joel Krosnick, Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, Laurie Smukler, Joseph Kalichstein, Roger Tapping, Misha Amory, and numerous others.
In North America, the Isidore Quartet has appeared on major series in Boston, New York, Berkeley, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Durham, Washington DC, Houston, San Francisco, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and has collaborated with several eminent performers including James Ehnes and Jeremy Denk. Their 2025/26 season includes performances in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Calgary, Tulsa, Pasadena, Santa Barbara, New York, Washington's Library of Congress, plus return engagements in Montreal, Berkeley, Houston, La Jolla, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Baltimore, and Spivey Hall in Georgia. First-time collaborations include clarinetist Anthony McGill, cellist Sterling Elliott, and the Miró Quartet.
In Europe they have performed at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, and in Bonn (Beethoven Haus), Stuttgart, Cologne, and Dresden, among many others. During 2025/26 they will make their debuts in Paris (Philharmonie) and London (Wigmore Hall).
Over the past several years, the quartet has developed a strong connection to the works of composer and pianist Billy Childs, performing his Quartets No. 2 and 3 throughout North America and Europe. In February 2026, they premiered Childs' Quartet No. 4 ("American Mosaic") written expressly for the Isidore Quartet and receiving its New York premiere at their 92NY performance.
Both on stage and outside the concert hall, the Isidore Quartet is deeply invested in connecting with youth and elderly populations, and with marginalized communities who otherwise have limited access to high-quality live music performance. They approach music as a "playground" and attempt to break down barriers to encourage collaboration and creativity. The name Isidore recognizes the ensemble's musical connection to the Juilliard Quartet: one of that group's early members was legendary violinist Isidore Cohen. Additionally, it acknowledges a shared affection for a certain libation - legend has it a Greek monk named Isidore concocted the first genuine vodka recipe for the Grand Duchy of Moscow!
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