#catalyst quartet

Hello everyone! As you know, I write our ongoing series on female composers here at Musica in Extenso. I love that series, obviously, but I also would like to see more of these composers appear regularly on the blog, especially in a week devoted to contemporary music, such as this one. To that end, today I’d like to share American composer Jessie Montgomery’s gorgeous chamber piece, Strum (2018), performed here by the Catalyst Quartet. It especially resonates with me right now as a contemporary piece with a lot of beautiful melodic lines to soothe the soul, bringing out the particular shades of tactile color best created by a string quartet. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!

In December 2022, as part of their Met residency, Catalyst Quartet presented an immersive dive into Bach’s behemoth Goldberg Variations, featuring their acclaimed string quartet arrangement of the beloved keyboard work. Performance artist and “theatrical genius” (The New Yorker) Machine Dazzle responded in real-time, interpreting the music’s inescapable evolution through a personal, emotional…

George Walker : Lyric For Strings, performed by the Catalyst Quartet

The Catalyst Quartet performed  Lyric For Strings by George Walker as part of their Artist-in-Residence series in @GreeneSpaceNY  at WNYC & WQXR  titled "Uncovered." You can watch the full concert here:   • Uncovered: Jessie Montgomery, Colerid...   Hailed by The New York Times as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet graced our stage with rare performances of work by five historically important Black composers, bringing to light these beautifully-crafted and — in some cases — heretofore never-recorded works. 

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson : String Quartet No. 1 "Calvary", performed by the Catalyst Quartet

The Catalyst Quartet performed String Quartet No. 1 "Calvary" by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson as part of their Artist-in-Residence series in @GreeneSpaceNY titled "Uncovered." You can watch the full concert here:   • Uncovered: Jessie Montgomery, Colerid...   Hailed by The New York Times as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet graced our stage with rare performances of work by five historically important Black composers, bringing to light these beautifully-crafted and — in some cases — heretofore never-recorded works. 

Florence B. Price: String Quartet in G Major, performed by  Catalyst Quartet

The Catalyst Quartet performed String Quartet in G Major by Florence B. Price as part of their Artist-in-Residence series in @GreeneSpaceNY titled "Uncovered." You can watch the full concert here:   • Catalyst Quartet Presents Uncovered: ...   Hailed by The New York Times as “invariably energetic and finely burnished… playing with earthy vigor,” the Grammy Award-winning Catalyst Quartet graced our stage with rare performances of work by five historically important Black composers, bringing to light these beautifully-crafted and — in some cases — heretofore never-recorded works. 

Florence B. Price - Five Folksongs in Counterpoint, performed by Catalyst Quartet

Part of their very interesting uncovered series, where they record pieces by lesser known black composers.

This is the third volume in the Catalyst Quartet’s wonderful and insightful survey of neglected works by black composers. The first focused on music by the black English composer Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1875-1912), the second on music of late nineteenth to mid-twentieth century American composer Florence Price (1887-1953). The present disc focuses on the works of three men whose musical careers…