A rare 1890s string quartet is played together for the first time in decades.
In short: The Catalyst Quartet performs Jessie Montgomery's Strum using a unique set of instruments crafted in Queens during the late nineteenth century. This performance marks the first time these matched instruments have been played as a group in over seventy years.
The instruments were created by the Gemünder workshop in the 1890s and were originally built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. As a matched set, they were designed specifically to function as a unified quartet. The collection was donated to The Met in 1945.
In December 2023, the Catalyst Quartet, serving as the museum's 2023-24 Quartet in Residence, brought these historic pieces back to life in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. The performance of Montgomery's folk-inspired composition highlights the unique sonic potential of this rare, preserved family of instruments.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Jessie Montgomery: Strum (Catalyst Quartet) | MetLiveArts
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