The two-time Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet is recognized and acclaimed as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment. A true quartet for modern times, at this performance they glide through classical and contemporary repertoire as one of the world’s most innovative and respected ensembles, playing Mendelssohn, Gabriela Ortiz and George Crumb.

Mendelssohn’s Quartet No. 6 was composed feverishly after the death of his sister, Fanny, and two months before his own untimely passing. It is Felix’s last completed work. This quartet brings to mind the myth of Orpheus’ failed attempt to free his wife Eurydice from Hades’ clutches, if only Eurydice be, instead, Felix’s beloved sister Fanny.

Mujer Ángel, dedicated to the Attacca Quartet, is Gabriela Ortiz’s sonic response to the sensations and emotions embedded in a photograph taken by Graciela Iturbide. Themes represented in the first two movements include the fragility of human existence in the face of nature’s grandeur and the evocation of the intimacy and strength of Seri women, whilst the third movement develops material that makes the listener aware of the presence of the camera and the person behind it.

Black Angels was conceived as a parable on our troubled contemporary world. The image of the black angel was a device used by early painters to symbolise the fallen angel. The underlying structure of Black Angels is a huge arch-like design which is suspended from three threnody pieces. The work portrays a voyage of the soul, and the performers also pay maracas, tam-tams, and water-tuned crystal glasses.

About Attacca Quartet

The two-time Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet is recognized for its outstanding playing and versatility – a true quartet for modern times.

In 2021 the Quartet released two albums that embody their redefinition of what a string quartet can be. The first, Real Life, was followed up by Of All Joys, which features works from Phillip Glass, Arvo Pärt, and music of the Renaissance period. Their 2019 release Orange, with with Caroline Shaw, saw them win the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Their follow-up album Evergreen won the 2023 Grammy Award in the same category. Ravel’s String Quartet, their most recent release, marks the start of a new recording relationship with Platoon.

The quartet tours extensively in the US, in mainland Europe, the UK and South America and in 2026 makes a visit to Australia.

The founding members of the Attacca Quartet met while all studying at the Juilliard School in the early 2000s and they made their professional debut at the Carnegie Hall in 2003.

The Attacca Quartet engages in educational and community outreach projects, working with the Lincoln Center Institute, University of Texas, Juilliard School, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Bravo! Vail Valley among others.

Reviews

‘exuberant, funky and…more exactingly nuanced.’ The New York Times

‘Attacca Quartet is quickly becoming the authoratitive ensemble for chamber works by Ms. Shaw, John Adams and, recently, Gabriella Smith.’ The New York Times

‘They may be a relatively young ensemble, but already they come very close to epitomizing the string quartet ideal…Mastery like this is scarce enough in quartets that have played together for decades.’ Washington Post

‘The Attacca Quartet enthralled a standing-room-only crowd.’ The Strad