Quartetti festival tip sheet: The enduring relevance of the string quartet

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      Proving the enduring relevance of the string quartet is the main purpose of Vancouver New Music’s Quartetti festival, with ensembles from Italy, Canada, and the U.S. presenting everything from the nearly traditional to electronically assisted soundscapes from way, way out there. Highlights from the Orpheum Annex series include:

      The JACK Quartet

      Thursday, October 18

      This U.S. ensemble is so technically adept that it makes the thorny scores of Iannis Xenakis and Geörgy Ligeti look… Well, not easy, but certainly manageable. Here, JACK will tackle their fellow New Yorker John Zorn’s The Alchemist, in which the Radical Jewish Culture pioneer turns his attention to Celtic mysticism and the numerological incantations of 16th-century philosopher John Dee.

       

      Quatuor Bozzini

      Thursday, October 18

      The Montreal ensemble returns us to the canonical computations of Johann Sebastian Bach, but as seen through the 21st-century lens of Canadian composer Cassandra Miller. Expect her About Bach to turn the old master on his ear, but without sacrificing his music’s ordered beauty. 

       

      Mivos Quartet

      Saturday, October 20

      The globetrotting foursome offers a new work from an artist Vancouver listeners should know well. But while George Lewis’s long association with the Western Front and the New Orchestra Workshop Society has been based on his works for electronics and/or jazz ensemble, his String Quartet 2.5, “Playing With Seeds” will show what he has to offer in the classical sphere.

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