JACK Quartet
American Music No. 2
Thursday, April 26, 2018 | 8:00 pm
Rubenstein Arts Center | von der Heyden Studio Theater
The members of the JACK Quartet have been called “superheroes of the new music world” (The Boston Globe) and the “next-generation counterpart” to the benchmark Arditti (The Guardian). The New York Times hailed the JACK as “among the best ensembles of its generation.” Recent personnel shifts brought the ensemble two electrifying new players, violinist Austin Wulliman and cellist Jay Campbell. A founder of the Spektral Quartet and a collaborator with indie rock bands and high-profile orchestras, Wulliman’s experience fits the JACK’s expansive mission. Likewise, Campbell — a recent Avery Fisher Career Grant winner and a New York Philharmonic soloist — has worked with some of the world’s most vital composers, among them John Zorn.
During the JACK’s second concert of the season as Duke Performances’ ensemble-in-residence, its members play another daring program of American music for string quartet. The evening opens with Erin Gee’s fanciful Mouthpiece XXII, commissioned for the Arditti; Mark Applebaum’s recent Kronos commission, Darmstadt Kindergarten; and Elliott Carter’s whirlwind String Quartet No. 3. The second half includes legendary experimentalist Anthony Braxton’s Compositions and Morton Feldman’s quietly intense Structures. A month after its Carnegie Hall premiere, the JACK closes the evening with a reprise of Philip Glass’ String Quartet No. 8.
Parking for Duke Performances presentations at the Rubenstein Arts Center, including the JACK Quartet, is available directly across the street from the venue in the Campus Drive Lot, approximately a one-minute walk. The entrance to this lot is on Anderson Street, just north of Campus Drive, facing the west side of the Rubenstein Arts Center. A crossing guard will be stationed near the entrance of the Campus Drive lot before and after each show to allow you to cross the street safely.
Program
Erin Gee: Mouthpiece XXII
Mark Applebaum: Darmstadt Kindergarten
Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 3
Anthony Braxton: Selections from Compositions
Morton Feldman: Structures
Philip Glass: String Quartet No. 8
JACK Quartet 'Rindfleisch: String Quartet No. 1'
JACK Quartet 'Xenakis: Tetras'
JACK Quartet 'Karpen: Aperture II'
JACK Quartet 'String Quartet No. 2: Come un meccanismo di precisione'
JACK Quartet 'Riding the Purple Twilight: Allegro Dangeroso'
“The JACK Quartet, in terrific performances, proved that the quaint old string quartet, stretched to its limits, remains vital and entertaining.”