Concert Five | Ever Yours

When thinking about how to cap off this edition of Chamberfest, UKARIA's own Alison Beare suggested the idea of working with a fabulous string quartet from the Australian National Academy of Music. The idea immediately struck us for a couple of reasons. First, a couple of years ago, we did a collaborative program with the Danish String Quartet in Copenhagen which was a real hoot! So we had proof of concept! But second, our dear friend and omnivorous musical creator Osvaldo Golijov has since written a string octet (Ever Yours) inspired by Haydn’s amazing work of extraordinary gravitas, Op. 76 No. 2; we’ve been anxiously seeking opportunities to bring these works together on a program, and lo and behold!

To round out the program, we wanted to present Am I in your light? – a stunning aria from John Adams’ celebrated opera Doctor Atomic, again inviting Ariadne Greif back to the stage. This colourful program begins with a recent BR commission from the tirelessly creative Sicilian cellist Giovanni Sollima based on T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. All good things come to an end; we bring this edition of Chamberfest to a rousing conclusion with traditional works from the Danish Quartet’s library and a special work that has been part of BR since the very beginning – Ascending Bird, which uses a traditional Persian tune, telling the ancient story (likely with Zoroastrian roots) of a bird that flies to the sun in a fiery embrace.

– Brooklyn Rider

Brooklyn Rider
Ariadne Greif | Soprano
ANAM String Quartet
    Olivia Kowalik | Violin
    Jasmine Milton | Violin
    Hanna Wallace | Viola
    Max Zhenxiang Wung | Cello

Giovanni Sollima (b. 1962)
Four Quartets [13′]

I. Burnt Norton
II. East Coker
III. The Dry Salvages
IV. Little Gidding

John Adams (b. 1947)
Am I in your light? from Doctor Atomic [5′]

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
String Quartet in D minor, Op. 76 No. 2 [20′]

I. Allegro
II. Andante di molto più tosto allegretto
III. Menuetto. Allegro ma non troppo
IV. Vivace assai

INTERVAL

Osvaldo Golijov (b. 1960)
Ever Yours [24’]

Rasmus Storm / Danish String Quartet
Minuet No. 60 [3’]

Scottish-Danish Traditional / Danish String Quartet
The Dromer [3’]

Colin Jacobsen and Siamak Aghaei / Persian Traditional
Ascending Bird [9’]