Miller Theatre Welcomes the Attacca Quartet for the First Pop-Up Concert of Spring
The GRAMMY Award-winning Attacca Quartet performed the first spring concert of Miller Theatre’s ongoing Live from Columbia series. The group, who made their premiere at Miller last year, has been praised by The Strad as “stunning” and for possessing “a musical maturity far beyond its members’ years.” Co-presented with Columbia University School of the Arts, Live from Columbia brings virtual performances to audiences around the world, showcasing the breadth of Miller's programming—from Bach to jazz to living composers—while highlighting the iconic beauty of Columbia’s campus.
The Attacca Quartet, composed of violinists Amy Shroeder and Domenic Salerni, violist Nathan Schram, and cellist Andrew Yee, is currently celebrating its 15th season. From sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall to National Public Radio’s far-reaching Tiny Desk Concerts, the Attacca Quartet celebrates the timeless beauty of the string quartet for a broad audience and this sublime art form. The quartet won the 2019 GRAMMY Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance for the album Shaw: Orange. It also has received critical acclaim from numerous sources and was chosen as one of NPR’s “Best Albums of 2019.” The quartet has also released three critically acclaimed albums with Azica Records: Fellow Traveler: String Quartets of John Adams, Franz Joseph Haydn’s Seven Last Words (arranged by Andrew Yee), and Songlines: String Quartets of Michael Ippolito.
The quartet, whose members are passionate advocates of contemporary music, presented a captivating program featuring the works of three living composers for their Pop-Up Concert performance. The ensemble’s passion for new music is one they share with Melissa Smey, Associate Dean and Executive Director of Miller Theatre, the Arts Initiative, and the Lenfest Center for the Arts. Smey also founded the Pop-Up Concert series at Miller Theatre. Speaking in her video introduction to the quartet’s performance, Smey said, “Central to my programming philosophy is a commitment to presenting works by living composers, and here...My goal when I founded the Pop-Up Concerts was to give audiences an opportunity to hear world-class musicians in an informal setting and to make classical music feel comfortable and welcoming for all.”
Over 230 people joined the live premiere of the performance, which began with selections from Adams’ John’s Book of Alleged Dances (1994). As in-program note moderator Lara Pellegrinelli pointed out, Adams himself has described the Attacca Quartet as “sharing his musical DNA.” The ensemble has recorded his entire works for string quartet, “rendering themselves uniquely capable of illustrating the sardonic wit embedded in this suite,” Pellegrinelli noted. As noted in the New York Times review of the Attacca’s Quartet’s 2015 performance of Adams’ composition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Adams has said he called the dances “alleged” because “the steps for them had yet to be invented.” While the Pop-Up concert did not feature any accompanying choreography, the audience was treated to the quartet’s gripping and delightful command of the music.
The quartet also performed Paul Wiancko’s Benkei’s Standing Death (2020), which he has described as “an opera without words.” Pellegrinelli shared more about the story which inspired this moving piece: “It takes as its subject the beloved 12th-century Japanese tale of Ushiwakamaru, a young warrior attended by his faithful bodyguard Benkei. Part I narrates the encounter that formed their alliance. One victory shy of claiming a thousand swords from unworthy samurai, Saitō Musashibō Benkei encounters Ushiwakamaru, a diminutive boy playing the flute and wearing an impressive sword. They duel, and Benkei is effortlessly defeated by Ushiwakamaru in an astonishing display of skill. The humbled warrior swears loyalty to the boy and vows to serve him for life. Part II finds our rugged adventurers under siege. Ushiwakamaru, now a celebrated general known as Yoshitsune, has been betrayed by his half-brother, the future shogun Yoritomo. Benkei single-handedly defeats hundreds of Yoritomo's men, who retreat and rain countless arrows down upon him. It is only when the soldiers cautiously approach Benkei that they realize he has died on his feet—propped up by the arrows that killed him.”
The evening ended with a performance of Gabriella Smith’s Carrot Revolution (2015). Smith calls the piece “a patchwork of my wildly contrasting influences and full of weird, unexpected juxtapositions and intersecting planes of sound, inspired by the way Albert C. Barnes’ ensembles show old works in new contexts and draw connections between things we don’t think of as being related.” The Attacca Quartet, with their impressive command of their instruments, brought Smith’s piece to life once more.
Watch the Attacca Quartet’s complete performance here and tune in on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET to catch a performance by the incredibly talented Brooklyn-based choro band, Regional de NY.