(le) poisson rouge

Pianist Ursula Oppens, one of the very first artists to grasp the importance of programming traditional and contemporary works in equal measure, has won a singular place in the hearts of her public, critics, and colleagues alike. Her sterling musicianship, uncanny understanding of the composer’s artistic argument, and lifelong study of the keyboard’s resources, have placed her among the elect of performing musicians.

Recent highlights include appearances with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, recitals for the Van Cliburn Foundation, Music Toronto, and at Baylor University, et al. In 2008/09 Ursula Oppens performed Messiaen’s “Visions de l’amen” at Symphony Space, where she also returned for a solo recital of Beethoven and John Corgliano in the spring. She joined Mark Morris Dance Group for “Mozart Dances”, appearing in Toronto, on tour in New Zealand, and at the Kennedy Center. In 2008, Ms. Oppens celebrated the 100th birthday of her friend and colleague, Elliott Carter, with critically acclaimed performances of his complete works for solo piano at the Boston Conservatory of Music, at SymphonySpace, and at San Francisco Performances; and with appearances at Ravinia, Tanglewood, Merkin Hall and elsewhere. Her recording of these works, “Oppens plays Carter” received a 2009 GRAMMY nomination for best solo classical album and was named on “Best of 2008” lists in The New York Times, the New Yorker magazine and the Chicago Tribune.

Other dates include a featured appearance at the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s renowned Green Umbrella Festival; Lou Harrison’s Piano Concerto at the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s American Composers Festival; Carter’s “Dialogues” at the Tanglewood Festival; her world-premiere performance of William Bolcolm’s “Ballade” at the newly re-opened Merkin Hall; Frederic Rzewski’s “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” at Berkeley’s EdgeFest (one of the “top ten classical music events of 2007”, Joshua Kosman, The San Francisco Chronicle,); and recitals at Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Columbia University’s Miller Theater, Zankel Hall, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival at the Mannes College of Music and elsewhere.

Black & White Photo credit: Steve J. Sherman

The JACK Quartet electrifies audiences worldwide with "explosive virtuosity" (Boston Globe) and "viscerally exciting performances" (New York Times). David Patrick Stearns (Philadelphia Inquirer) proclaimed their performance as being "among the most stimulating new-music concerts of my experience," and NPR listed their performance as one of "The Best New York Alt-Classical Concerts Of 2010." TheWashington Post commented, "The string quartet may be a 250-year-old contraption, but young, brilliant groups like the JACK Quartet are keeping it thrillingly vital." Alex Ross (New Yorker) hailed their performance of Iannis Xenakis' complete string quartets as being "exceptional" and "beautifully harsh," and Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times) called their sold-out performances of Georg Friedrich Haas' String Quartet No. 3 In iij. Noct. "mind-blowingly good." The quartet's recording of Xenakis' complete string quartets appeared on "Best Of" lists from the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New Yorker, NPR, and as "one of 2009's most impressive recordings" from Time Out New York.

JACK has performed to critical acclaim at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Netherlands), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Library of Congress, Miller Theatre, Morgan Library & Museum, and Kimmel Center with recent and upcoming performances at the Ultraschall Festival (Germany), Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Monday Evening Concerts, Town Hall Seattle, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims (France), Arcana Festival (Austria), Wigmore Hall (United Kingdom), and Strathmore Hall.

Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Kevin McFarland, JACK is focused on the commissioning and performance of new works, leading them to work closely with composers Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Matthias Pintscher, Georg Friedrich Haas, James Dillon, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, Elliott Sharp, Beat Furrer, Caleb Burhans, and Aaron Cassidy. Upcoming and recent premieres include works by Alan Hilario, Peter Ablinger, Gregory Spears, Elliott Sharp, Jason Eckardt, and Hannah Lash. The quartet also offers fresh interpretations of early music, including works by Don Carlo Gesualdo, Guillaume de Machaut, and Josquin des Prez.

JACK has led workshops with young composers at the University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Darmstadt Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany), New York University, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, Eastman School of Music, University at Buffalo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, University of Huddersfield (United Kingdom), University of Washington, University of Victoria (Canada), and Manhattan School of Music. In addition to working with composers and performers, JACK seeks to broaden and diversify the potential audience for new music through educational presentations designed for a variety of ages, backgrounds, and levels of musical experience.

The members of the quartet met while attending the Eastman School of Music, and they have since studied with the Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Muir String Quartet, and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. JackQuartet.com