Brooklyn Rider’s Nicholas Cords

»The string quartet is super flexible. It’s like a vessel that can help contain all of our musical passions, from the traditional repertoire of the last 300 years that we all know and love to the music of today.«

In this episode of bee.contemporary, artistic director Steven Walter talked to Nicholas Cords, the violist of the American string quartet Brooklyn Rider. The quartet was the ensemble in residence at Beethovenfest 2023 and brought three very unusual programmes to Bonn. The two talked about how the collaboration with mandolinist Avi Avital came about, how music about the four elements is put together and what American musical culture means to the string quartet.

The innovative ensemble is coming to Bonn again for Beethovenfest 2025. This time with the programme »Citizenship Notes« – highly relevant in view of the current situation in their home country. The concert at the Pantheon Theatre in Bonn also marks the end of the city’s »Summer of Change« cultural festival.

bee.contemporary is the podcast of Beethovenfest Bonn. Here we invite guests from musical life, culture and society to talk about current artistic projects and contemporary discourses.