Isidore String Quartet 2024

The name of the quartet is multi-layered. On the one hand, it refers to a deep human and musical connection with the legendary Juilliard String Quartet, to which the violinist Isidore Cohen belonged. On the other hand, it could also be read as a reference to a certain high-proof drink that - originally known as bread wine - is said to have been invented by an Orthodox monk of Greek origin and distilled for years for the grand princely family in Moscow: the Isidore String Quartet from New York City. The programme of the four musicians uses a common thread that explores the labyrinth of human compassion and love. Mozart's Dissonance Quartet and Beethoven's op. 127 enter into an inner dialogue with the 3rd string quartet by US composer and jazz pianist Billy Childs, entitled "Unrequited". Originally written as a commentary on Leoš Janáček's "Intimate Letters", it explores the complexity of the "five stages of grief" when entering into a love relationship that turns out to be one-sided. Meanwhile, as 21st century artists, the Isidores explore the relationship between the old and the new - invoking the need to love and be loved that underlies our very existence.