Ensemble makes Victoria debut
New York-based Diderot String Quartet plays Alix Goolden Hall on its first trip to perform in Canada
The members of New York early-music ensemble the Diderot String Quartet have played some hallowed halls during their short time together — Washington National Cathedral and New York’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and Metropolitan Museum of Art among them.
Those are just three of the storied venues to host the group since its 2013 inception, with several more expected to be added this year.
Kyle Miller, the group’s violist, is still getting used to the excitement, although he and Adriane Post (violin), Johanna Novom (violin) and Paul Dwyer (cello) have extensive performance resumés as individuals.
They also have degrees from some of the most acclaimed music schools in the world, including Julliard and Yale.
“When we’re not having weeks designated to the quartet, we’re all doing different things with different groups,” Miller said.
“But this is definitely the favourite thing for all of us. We’re all pretty eager to do as much of it as possible.”
The group, named after French philosopher Denis Diderot, will make its Canadian debut on Friday in Vancouver, one of a few dates the group has played in the West. The quartet’s inaugural Victoria performance, on Saturday, will feature a program for baroque fans, including a pair of Bach tributes for string quartet from Mendelssohn.
The group, which only plays 20 concerts annually, has been in rehearsals all week to prepare for the difficult performance, said Miller, who would play more shows with the Diderot String Quartet if his schedule allowed.
He is currently performing in the band for the Broadway play Farinelli and the King, which stars Oscar nominee Mark Rylance, and does time with each of his fellow Diderot members in ACRONYM, a 12-member string group.
Dwyer is also playing with the Lyric Opera Company in Chicago, while Novom and Post juggle projects that include Apollo’s Fire with the Cleveland Baroque Orchestra.
The members of the Diderot String Quartet met while they were university students. Some were pursuing undergraduate degrees at the famed Oberlin College in Ohio, while others were enrolled in the Julliard School’s historical performance program (Novom also spent a fellowship year in the Yale Baroque Ensemble). They emerged with friendships and a shared passion for pre-1800 music.
“There’s definitely some fuzzy lines involved,” Miller said with a laugh, when asked about equipment and style in the genre.
“An interesting thing for us has been using the training we’ve had with historical performance, Baroque music that is from earlier than the repertoires we’re playing in the string quartet.
“It’s a bit of an exploration for us to play Brahms, Schumann and Schubert — some of that later repertoire — and figuring out the instruments. The style was radically different. That’s been the most interesting thing for us.”
The quartet is now in its third year as quartet-in-residence at the Washington National Cathedral, which gives the musicians several chances a year to exhibit their vintage instruments in concert.
“Amongst us, we have some [violin and cello] bows that are quite old, but Adriane is the only one of the four of us who has an antique instrument.
“Her violin — from the 17th century — was passed down from her great-grandmother, who had it. It’s pretty cool that instrument has that legacy, and to play this music with it.”