The Wallis Presents Brooklyn Rider Celebrating Philip Glass With TEMPLES OF RESONANCE

For their 20th anniversary, Brooklyn Rider celebrates the string quartets of Philip Glass with Temples of Resonance, a single concert program featuring a representative selection of some of the composer's most beloved scores for the medium at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in the Bram Goldsmith Theater on Friday, January 17 at 7:30pm.

Nearly two decades ago, the string quartets of Philip Glass were integral in the nascent days of Brooklyn Rider.  Brooklyn Rider as a group said, “The glowing resonances and rich emotional depth of this music coaxed us towards an ever more collective spirit in those formative years. While immersed in this world, our sensitivities for blend, transparency, and tone color - three of the most essential string quartet ingredients - were greatly heightened.”

Continuing, “The synergistic combination of interlocking patterns and elemental harmonies also invited broader connections as we shaped our identity as a string quartet: the gossamer-like inner voices of Schubert, the pulsating energy of our home base, New York City, or drone-based textures present in a wide web of world music traditions. All of this has led to a lasting relationship between Brooklyn Rider and this sonically diverse music, with the quartets serving time and time again as touchstones for our work on stage and in the recording studio.”

The quartet has performed in venues from New York City's Jazz at Lincoln Center to Mexico City's Deco masterpiece, the Palacio de Bellas Artes, and earned praise from classical and rock fans alike as “the future of chamber music” (Strings).  The Grammy-nominated string quartet presents eclectic repertoire and gripping performances that continue to draw rave reviews from classical, world, and rock critics alike. NPR credits Brooklyn Rider with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.”

In an interview with the Financial Times, violinist Johnny Gandelsman said, “With Glass each piece is a little jewel, getting to the very core of emotion and expression.  When we play Glass's music, I feel like we're creating it on the spot.  Although his fiddly minimalist repetitions and alternations need great skill, they also have great openness.  There are many composers who are incredibly exact about every single second of the thing. Philip invites the performer to take ownership of his music and that's what makes it come alive to me.”

Brooklyn Rider has a long history with Glass – including recording all of the string quartets, making the first recording Quarteting of Annunciation, the piano quintet with pianist Paul Barnes, the single movement Quartet Satz, and the Suite from the film Bent.

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