The budding ensemble Escher String Quartet has chosen to name themselves after the somewhat bizarre and mathematical 20th-century Dutch artist because chamber music, like the Escher paintings, starts out with individual parts/voices that weave together to form a stunning whole.
Manhattan School of Music Students: Already Turning Heads
This Manhattan-based quartet formed in 2005 with these musicians:
- Violin: Adam Barnett-Hart, a student of the Israeli violinist Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music.
- Violin: Wu Jie, also a student of Pinchas Zukerman at the Manhattan School of Music.
- Viola: Pierre Lapointe, who studied with the Emerson Quartet violist Lawrence Dutton at the Manhattan School of Music.
- Cello: Andrew Janss, who studied with David Geber at the Manhattan School of Music.
The group is quickly gaining attention (probably helped by the ensemble's connection to Zukerman): soon after the group's inception, Pinchas Zukerman invited the Escher Quartet to be the quartet-in-residence at his summer festival The Young Artists Programme at Canada's National Arts Centre, and Itzhak Perlman invited them to The Perlman Chamber Music Program on Shelter Island, NY.
The ensemble is currently the Caramoor's Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence in New York and has also enjoyed a Chamber Music Society Two residency, granted from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Precision, Beauty and a Little Modernity
Another similarity the Escher Quartet shares with its namesake is the beauty and complexity that comes from analytical precision. Mendelssohn simply sparkles in their hands (stream their recording of the Romantic composer's Quartet No. 2 on their website).
But the group also excels at a more contemporary repertoire, and concert performances venture outside the "traditional" classical venues, such as appearances at the Brooklyn nightclub Tonic and Union Hall with pop and jazz singers Luke Temple and Kurt Elling. The ensemble also performs in schools for preschoolers and were pleasantly surprised to discover that children also enjoy modern music (and almost seemed to prefer it). The group also gave the world premiere of the fourth movement of Pierre Jalbert's String Quartet No. 4 on WNYC's program "Soundcheck."
However, as the group told "Soundcheck" host John Schaefer, the Escher String Quartet isn't about using modern or eclectic music in order to make a name. Rather, they prefer to be known for their musical talent and artistry.
A brief internet search reveals that the group has yet to release an album showcasing this artistry, but whenever they do so, it is sure to be good.
Sources
Wise, Brian. "Opening Day With The Escher String Quartet." July 22, 2008. NPR Music.
Kirshbaum, Demler and Associates website.
Escher String Quartet website.
