{"id":46738,"date":"2017-08-16T19:49:33","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T23:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=46738"},"modified":"2017-08-17T08:13:17","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T12:13:17","slug":"banff-jack-quartet-reimagining-chamber-music-from-a-to-jay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/08\/16\/banff-jack-quartet-reimagining-chamber-music-from-a-to-jay\/","title":{"rendered":"BANFF | JACK Quartet: Reimagining Chamber Music From A To Jay"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"JACK
JACK Quartet (Photo: Shervin Lainez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meet\u00a0the JACK Quartet:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a real difference in the approach [JACK Quartet] reinforces, in terms of starting from scratch<\/strong>\u2014there\u2019s a really different kind of focus and energy to it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

So Austin Wulliman puts out JACK Quartet\u2019s nitty-gritty musical approach to us, one as bold as the modern repertoire they tackle. Comprising himself and Christopher Otto on violin, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Jay Campbell, the group\u2019s total engagement lends an electric flow to their performances, at once jolting and immersive to witness.<\/p>\n

\"Least
Least to most Foodie<\/strong>: the JACKs rank themselves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JACK\u2019s latest power surge occurred in fall 2016, when Austin and Jay came on board. At their audition, works by Lachenmann and Xenakis were on the bill, composers which JACK continue to program and be known for. Jay recounts the decisive encounter: \u201cWe read it down like you would a normal string quartet\u2014you just get together and read a Haydn quartet, see if it meshes. And it\u2019s like, \u2018Ok, let\u2019s play Tetras<\/em>\u2026\u2019 It was a really insane\u2026 bunch of shit!\u201d The current between the four was immediate and still runs strong: \u201cIt\u2019s important to find people that you\u2019re honest with,\u201d Jay muses, \u201ca group where it\u2019s contributing towards something with longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally formed in 2007, JACK\u2019s association with contemporary music positions them favourably in an era of rapid expansion. Their secret to longevity seems to be to embrace creative change, and to hang onto a musical curiosity that keeps them young-at-heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe interesting thing as I start to become \u2018not young\u2019 anymore is that change is really good,\u201d Austin reflects with a smile. \u201cThere\u2019s a balance between longevity and in the mixing of ideas that influences each other: people find new solutions to new and old problems.\u201d Fresh blood brings innovation into a musical organisation, whether in JACK\u2019s case or within Banff Centre\u2019s artistic directorship. \u201cI think people have a romanticised, Guarneri-Quartet-50-years-together idea; I think it\u2019s actually better to have some [personnel] changes over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Least
Least to most Caffiend<\/strong>: the JACKs rank themselves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JACK jumpstarted\u00a0Banff\u2019s Chamber Music module last month, working with up-and-coming participant musicians as coaches, playing side-by-side, and through open discussions. This mentor-disciple model\u00a0is a tenet of Banff\u2019s reimagined program under its new artistic leadership, and a \u201cbig experiment,\u201d if you will.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see a new structure try to take shape; a new way of working together for the faculty and students compared to how it was before,\u201d Austin points out. \u201cFor how a contemporary practice of chamber music works, it\u2019s important that young musicians have both freedom to explore music they\u2019re interested in, and the ways of rehearsing and interacting with older musicians [\u2026] Learning how you use your time and energy, and how you build community over a short period of time, that feeds the way it could work long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we were to draw further parallels between musical schools of thought? \u201cIt\u2019s actually weirdly like Marlboro, except the music is more interesting [at Banff],\u201d Jay notes astutely. Score one for Banff: \u201cIt has that same open-endedness, and you can take as much or as little time as you want on the music, [depending on] however you feel the dynamic is. It\u2019s cool, there\u2019s not a lot of models like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many musical models are confined to their origins, be it from the West or from Eastern cultures. John still relishes his moment of transition into new music: it was a pivotal moment\u00a0of dissociating\u00a0sounds\u00a0from the “classical” standard. \u201cOften there is no context when we\u2019re given a new score, and we read the 10 pages of instructions\u2014or not! [laughs]\u2014and the actual challenge is finding that performance practice in there, and making that familiar the same way that The Beatles or Mozart are familiar to us. And I love that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

So does Austin: \u201cI love it when the sound is messing with peoples\u2019 expectations, especially when they expect to be more at a distance and the sound attacks them, and they\u2019re in something that they don\u2019t fully perceive or understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris explains how Xenakis’s Tetras<\/em>\u00a0became a successful experiment in audience conversion\u00a0for JACK. A\u00a0signature piece of theirs\u00a0since at least 2009, it manages\u00a0to strike a chord across demographic and generational divides\u2014this in spite of its noisy dissonances, unclassifiable sounds and glissandos.<\/p>\n