Celebrating 20 years together, the four members of Brooklyn Rider are back at UKARIA with this survey of the string quartet tradition. Built around core works by Haydn, Beethoven, JS Bach and Schoenberg, their thematic programming promises to examine democracy and citizenship, including a visit to the pre-WWI world of Der Blaue Reiter (their namesake) and a healing meditation bookended by John Cage and Philip Glass. They are joined by soprano Ariadne Greif, dancers Melissa Toogood and Fiona Jopp, and a string quartet from ANAM.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

A big part of what inspires us as a string quartet is the possibility for collaboration across artistic disciplines. We have had a long history working with dancers and choreographers, having been the resident quartet at the Vail Dance Festival (Vail, Colorado, USA) for more than ten years. One of the amazing artists we have encountered over the years is Australia’s own Melissa Toogood, a visionary dancer whose long history with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company and choreographer Pam Tanowitz has made her one of the most esteemed dancers of her generation. Melissa has invited the multi-faceted dancer and Gold Coast native Fiona Jopp to join this program, Morning Dances.

For the occasion, we have decided to make this a morning of musical solos; grounded by two of Bach’s most iconic works for solo string instruments, the morning also features three contemporary works. Kate Moore and Liza Lim are both Australian-born composers with worldwide reputations, the former represented by a mesmerising work for solo viola and the latter, a jaw-dropping work for solo cello.