Attacca Quartet
The two-time Grammy Award-winning Attacca Quartet is recognized and acclaimed as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment—a true quartet for modern times. Gliding through traditional classical repertoire to electronic and video game music and contemporary collaborations, this is one of the world’s most innovative and respected ensembles.
In 2021, the quartet released two albums that embody its redefinition of what a string quartet can be. The first album, Real Life, featuring guest artists such as Tokimonsta, Daedalus, and Anne Müller, was followed by Of all Joys, which features works from Phillip Glass and Arvo Pärt, and music of the Renaissance period. Passionate advocates of contemporary repertoire, the quartet is dedicated to presenting and recording new works. Orange, the group’s 2019 release (in collaboration with Caroline Shaw), saw the Attacca win the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, with the follow-up album Evergreen winning the 2023 award in the same category. The quartet continues to perform in the world’s best venues and festivals.
Recent highlights include Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival and Miller Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Phillips Collection, Chamber Music Detroit, Chamber Music Austin, and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston as well as the Ojai Festival, BRIC Arts, and Big Ears Festival. Outside of the US, performances include Kings Place and in Oslo at the Vertavo Haydn Festival as well as performances at Gothenburg Konserthuset, MITO Septembre Festival in Italy, Sociedad Filarmónica de Bilbao, Strijkkwartet Biennale Amsterdam, Strings of Autumn Festival Prague, Thüringer Bachwochen, Sala São Paulo in Brazil, Fundación Beethoven in Chile, National Theatre of Panamá, and Teatro Mayor in Bogota.
The founding members of the Attacca Quartet met while all studying at the Juilliard School in the early 2000s, with the group making its professional debut at Carnegie Hall in 2003. Other accolades include First Prize at the seventh Osaka International Chamber Music Competition, the Top Prize and Listeners’ Choice awards at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, and Grand Prize of the 60th annual Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition.
The Attacca Quartet has engaged in extensive educational and community outreach projects, serving as guest artists and teaching fellows at the Lincoln Center Institute, University of Texas, Juilliard School, the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Bravo! Vail Valley, among others. The group’s members are expert programmers and communicators, beautifully combining existing works with those by living composers.