Tune into Afternoon New Music at 3 PM today to hear an exclusive performance and an interview with Momenta Quartet, a NYC based string quartet. The quartet will perform Dutilleux's "Ainsi La Nuit" and Christopher Stark's "Winter Music". This will air a day before Momenta Festival II, the quartet's annual, democratically-curated, four part series, taking place at Tenri, NYC through September 28 and October 2.
The Momenta Quartet features Emilie-Anne Gendron and Alex Shiozaki on the violin, Stephanie Griffin on the viola and Michael Haas on the cello. The quartet came into being in November 2004 and have since premiered over 100 works, collaborated with over 120 living composers, among whom are also avant-garde composers from the developing world.
Momenta Festival II, taking place at the Tenri Cultural Institute of New York from September 28 to October 2 is split into four programs, each curated by a different member of the ensemble. This year's festival will feature centellial celebrations of the music of Dutilleux and Ginastera, daring parings of Japanese modernism and Beethoven and beloved classics by Janáček, Grieg, Cage and Ysaÿe.