On March 9, the New York Philharmonic String Quartet will make its full-orchestra debut as the solo ensemble in John Adams’s Absolute Jest, with Alan Gilbert leading the quartet and full orchestra at David Geffen Hall. The quartet—whose members are Concertmaster Frank Huang, Principal Associate Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps, and Principal Cello Carter Brey—was formed in January 2017. The March 9 performance, the first of three in New York, is part of year-long celebrations of Adams’s 70th birthday; the work will also be performed at London’s Barbican Centre and Hamburg’s new Elbphilharmonie during the orchestra’s Europe tour in April. In November 2017, the quartet will make its recital debut performing Dvorák’s String Quartet in F Major (“American”), Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 4, and Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in F minor at New York’s 92nd Street Y.
Posted March 9, 2017
New York Philharmonic String Quartet photo by Chris Lee
