Johnny Gandelsman violin
Colin Jacobsen violin
Nicholas Cords viola
Michael Nicolas cello

The name Brooklyn Rider is inspired by the artist group The Blue Rider, which at the beginning of the 20st century published an eclectic almanac of artwork, essays and music that served as an artistic testament to their time while offering a vision for the future and an open embrace of diverse artistic traditions, media, and aesthetics.

Hailed as »the future of chamber music« (Strings), the String Quartet Brooklyn Rider presents eclectic repertoire and gripping performances that continue to draw rave reviews from Classical, World, and Rock critics alike. The US-American National Public Radio (NPR) credits Brooklyn Rider with »recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.«

In 2020 Brooklyn Rider presented the project »Healing Modes«, which takes a holistic view of Beethoven's Op. 132 combined with five commissioned works by Reena Esmail, Gabriela Lena Frank, Matana Roberts and the two Pulitzer Prize winners Caroline Shaw and Du Yun. They explore the theme of healing from a variety of historical and cultural perspectives – a topic that could not have been more relevant within the events of 2020 & 2021. In March 2020 the New Yorker praised the concept of the recording as convincing and the playing of the four as persuasive.

In numerous other albums the string quartet collaborated with extraordinary musicians outside the classical music, for example with jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman (»Sun On Sand«), Mexican jazz vocalist Magos Herrera (»Dreamers«) and Irish fiddle master Martin Hayes (»The Butterfly«). Contemporary music is always the focus of the ensemble. They played music by composers like Tyondai Braxton, Evan Ziporyn, Paula Matthusen, Kyle Sanna and Brooklyn Rider violinist Colin Jacobsen. A close relationship with the iconic American composer Phil Glass began with 2011’s much-praised »Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass« and will continue with the upcoming album release of Glass’s recent quartets on the composer’s Orange Mountain Music label.

In 2015, the group celebrated its tenth anniversary with the groundbreaking multi-disciplinary project »Brooklyn Rider Almanac«, for which it recorded and toured 15 specially commissioned works, each inspired by a different artistic muse.

On the European stages, the quartet will perform at the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Flagey Brussels, the Liszt Academy Budapest, the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin and the Heidelberger Fruehling, among others.