Founded in 2005, New York string quartet
Brooklyn Rider are known for their accessible but genre- and boundary-challenging repertoire. In addition to recording works by the likes of
Beethoven and
Philip Glass, they draw focus on emerging composers and contribute their own original compositions. The ensemble's many collaborations include recordings by artists spanning
Béla Fleck,
Suzanne Vega,
Kojiro Umezaki, and
Gabriel Kahane.
Co-founded by brothers
Colin Jacobsen (violin) and
Eric Jacobsen (cello), who were also among the founding members of chamber orchestra the Knights,
Brooklyn Rider's original lineup also included violinist
Johnny Gandelsman and violist
Nicholas Cords. The quartet soon founded the Stillwater Music Festival (2006-2015) with an eye to premiering new works.
Brooklyn Rider made their recording debut via
Gandelsman's In a Circle label with 2008's Passport, which included a set of Armenian folk songs by
Komitas. Later that year, they issued The Silent City with Iranian composer and kamancheh player
Kayhan Kalhor. They could be heard on
Suzanne Vega's Close-Up Series beginning in 2010, the same year
Claude Debussy,
John Cage, and their own
Colin Jacobsen were among the composers represented on
Dominant Curve. The year 2011 saw the release of Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass as well as the group's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center debuts.
Consisting of their own piece Seven Steps, a work by
the Nighty Nite's
Christopher Tignor, and
Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor,
Seven Steps arrived in 2012 on In a Circle. The following year, Mercury Classics released
The Impostor, banjo compositions by
Béla Fleck with
the Nashville Symphony and
Brooklyn Rider. Also from Mercury, 2013's
A Walking Fire offered the music of
Colin Jacobsen,
Ljova Zhurbin, and
Béla Bartók. In 2014,
The Brooklyn Rider Almanac comprised commissioned string quartets from jazz, rock, and folk artists such as
Bill Frisell,
Aiofe O'Donovan,
Deerhoof's
Greg Saunier, and
Wilco's
Glenn Kotche. The quartet then collaborated with indie singer/songwriter/composer
Gabriel Kahane on early 2016's The Fiction Issue, a set of art songs that also featured
My Brightest Diamond and the poetry of Matthew Zapruder. By the time of its release,
Eric Jacobsen had parted ways with
Brooklyn Rider to focus on conducting, and was replaced by cellist
Michael Nicolas.
Arriving later in 2016, So Many Things partnered
Brooklyn Rider with opera star
Anne Sofie von Otter on a live set of songs by songwriters including
John Adams,
Björk, and
Rufus Wainwright. It was released by Naïve.
Spontaneous Symbols followed on In a Circle in 2017 and concentrated on contemporaries
Tyondai Braxton,
Paula Matthusen,
Kyle Sanna, and
Evan Ziporyn.