Momenta Quartet presents:
Momenta Festival VII
New Dates!
September 15, 16, 17 & 18, 2022
Featuring: Mexican Independence Day Celebration, Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, world premiere by David Glaser, Brahms' Horn Trio, and more
Four unique programs curated by each quartet member; free admission
"[the Momenta Festival] has become one of the most amazingly eclectic, never mind herculean feats attempted by any chamber ensemble in this city..." - New York Music Daily
Momenta Quartet presents its annual festival September 15-18, 2022 (rescheduled from June 2022). All four concerts are at the Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 W 114th St. New York, NY) at 7:30 pm, and admission is free.
The seventh edition of the festival features four diverse chamber music programs each curated by a different member of the quartet. With programs that blend the old and new, the "intriguing programming" (The New York Times) and "striking originality" (I Care If You Listen) of the Momenta Festival have been acclaimed by critics and fans alike.
The festival opens with a string quartet by the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, paired with works by Americans Elizabeth Brown and Shawn Jaeger. On Mexican Independence Day (September 16), the quartet performs two string quartets by Julián Carrillo, as the group is in the midst of recording all of Carrillo's quartets for Naxos. Guest artists David Byrd-Marrow, horn and Nana Shi, piano join the quartet on September 17 for a whimsical work, In Memory of Perky Pat, and Brahms' monumental horn trio. The world premiere of David Glaser’s String Quartet No. 5, written for Momenta in memory of Mario Davidovsky, alongside Beethoven’s groundbreaking “Serioso” quartet, closes the festival.
"I continue to be surprised at the quality of programming each member of the quartet brings to the festival," says Momenta violist Stephanie Griffin. "We founded this festival in 2015 as an artistic outlet for each of our individual musical interests, and my colleagues have introduced so many new pieces and composers to audiences and myself across the seven years."
Admission to all concerts is free. Programs are subject to change.
Momenta Quartet's 2022 Momenta Festival
All concerts start at 7:30 pm (doors at 7 pm)
at the Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 W 114th St.) in Manhattan
Free admission, no tickets/reservations needed
SEPTEMBER 15: Distant Songs - curated by Michael Haas, cello
In the words of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, “Music is, above all, a chant, a song the world sings about itself.” Momenta explores the influence of song and the human voice on this program featuring recent works by Silvestrov and American composers Elizabeth Brown and Shawn Jaeger.
Program:
Elizabeth Brown: Just Visible in the Distance (2013)
Valentin Silvestrov: String Quartet no. 3 (2011)
Shawn Jaeger: Thy Wondering Eyes (2010)
SEPTEMBER 16: A Mexican Independence Day Celebration - curated by Stephanie Griffin
Momenta continues its deep dive into the fascinating and under-explored world of historic Mexican composers. As part of the quartet’s ongoing project to make the world premiere recordings of Julián Carrillo’s complete string quartets for Naxos, Momenta will perform his String Quartet No. 5 (1937) and No. 11 (1962).
Julián Carrillo (1875 - 1965) was a Mexican composer, conductor and music theorist, who developed a theory of microtonal music which he called "The Thirteenth Sound" (Sonido 13).
Program:
Julián Carrillo: String Quartet No. 5
Julián Carrillo: String Quartet No. 11
SEPTEMBER 17: Horn Fifths - curated by Alex Shiozaki, violin
Guest artists: David Byrd-Marrow, horn and Nana Shi, piano
David Byrd-Marrow and Nana Shi join Momenta on this program exploring the horn and its harmonies. Having premiered Hirofumi Mogi’s In Memory of Perky Pat (2021) earlier this year, Momenta is reprising that whimsical piece for string quartet and french horn. Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Quintet No. 2 (1965) provides another take on harmony, replacing overtones with quintal harmonies in this angular and virtuosic quintet. To close the evening, we return to the comforting consonance of Johannes Brahms’s Horn Trio, taking us through a full range of emotions without leaning too much into the clash of dissonance.
Program:
Hirofumi Mogi: In Memory of Perky Pat (2021) for string quartet and horn
Johannes Brahms: Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano in E-flat Major, Op. 40 (1865)
Grażyna Bacewicz: Piano Quintet No. 2 (1965)
SEPTEMBER 18: Visionary Sounds - curated by Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin
Momenta presents the world premiere of David Glaser’s String Quartet No. 5 (2022), written for Momenta in memory of Mario Davidovsky, alongside Davidovsky’s intricate Synchronisms No. 9 (1988) for violin and recorded electronic sounds. This exploratory evening also includes Mexican microtonal trailblazer Julián Carrillo’s final String Quartet No. 11 (1962); and Beethoven’s groundbreaking “Serioso” quartet.
Program:
Stefan Wolpe: Twelve Pieces for String Quartet (1950)
Mario Davidovsky: Synchronisms No. 9 (1988) for violin and recorded electronic sounds
David Glaser: String Quartet No. 5, in memoriam Mario Davidovsky (2022)*
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 11 in f minor, Op. 95 “Serioso” (1810)
*world premiere, written for Momenta
Momenta Quartet
Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin
Alex Shiozaki, violin
Stephanie Griffin, viola
Michael Haas, cello
Momenta: the plural of momentum – four individuals in motion towards a common goal. This is the idea behind the Momenta Quartet, whose eclectic vision encompasses contemporary music of all aesthetic backgrounds alongside great music from the recent and distant past. The New York City-based quartet has premiered over 150 works, collaborated with over 200 living composers and was praised by The New York Times for its “diligence, curiosity and excellence.” In the words of The New Yorker’s Alex Ross, “few American players assume Haydn’s idiom with such ease.”
Momenta has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery, Rubin Museum, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Washington University in St. Louis, Ostrava Days in the Czech Republic, and at the internationally renowned Cervantino Festival in Mexico. Momenta has recorded for Centaur Records, Furious Artisans, PARMA, New World Records, and Albany Records; and has been broadcast on WQXR, Q2 Music, Austria's Oe1, and Vermont Public Radio.
The Momenta Festival VII is made possible through the generous support of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Amphion Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, New Music USA, Chamber Music America, the Sparkplug Foundation, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The 2022 Momenta Festival is supported by The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund and through the generosity of many individual donors.