Johnny Gandelsman violin
Colin Jacobsen violin
Nicholas Cords viola
Michael Nicolas cello

The name Brooklyn Rider is inspired by the artist group The Blue Rider, which at the beginning of the 20st century published an eclectic almanac of artwork, essays and music that served as an artistic testament to their time while offering a vision for the future and an open embrace of diverse artistic traditions, media, and aesthetics.

Hailed as »the future of chamber music« (Strings), the String Quartet Brooklyn Rider presents eclectic repertoire and gripping performances that continue to draw rave reviews from Classical, World, and Rock critics alike. The US-American National Public Radio (NPR) credits Brooklyn Rider with »recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble«, which is reflected in the quartet’s programmes.

With »The 4 Elements«, Brooklyn Rider brings a theme to concert stages that could not be more timely: global warming and the destruction of our planet, which also serves as a wake-up call. With an almost prophetic sense for the zeitgeist, Brooklyn Rider presented the project »Healing Modes« in 2020, which takes a holistic view of Beethoven’s Op. 132 combined with five commissioned works by Reena Esmail, Gabriela Lena Frank, Matana Roberts and the two Pulitzer Prize winners Caroline Shaw and Du Yun. They explore the theme of healing from a variety of historical and cultural perspectives.

In numerous other albums the string quartet collaborated with extraordinary musicians outside the classical music, for example with jazz saxophonist Joshua Redman (»Sun On Sand«), Mexican jazz vocalist Magos Herrera (»Dreamers«) and Irish fiddle master Martin Hayes (»The Butterfly«).

Their relationship with the iconic American composer Philip Glass began with 2011’s much-praised »Brooklyn Rider Plays Philip Glass« and will continue with the upcoming album release of Glass’s recent quartets on the composer’s Orange Mountain Music label.

Brooklyn Rider toured Australia in February 2024 with concerts at the Melbourne Recital Center, the Perth Festival, Ukaria in Adelaide and the Sydney Opera House. The Sydney Morning Herald subsequently ran the headline »This may be the coolest String Quartet in the world«.

In the 2024/25 season, the quartet performs in Europe at venues including the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Pierre Boulez Saal Berlin, the Konserthuset Stockholm and the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna.