Presenting Momenta Festival VIII

Momenta Festival VIII
September 30 - October 5

Concerts curated by each member of Momenta Quartet

"[The Momenta Festival] has become one of the most amazingly eclectic, never mind herculean feats attempted by any chamber ensemble in this city..."
​ - New York Music Daily

Momenta Quartet presents its annual Momenta Festival September 30 and October 1 at Broadway Presbyterian Church (601 West 114th St) and October 4 and 5 at Americas Society (680 Park Ave). Admission to all concerts is free.

The eighth edition of the festival features four diverse chamber music programs each curated by a member of the quartet. With programs that blend the old and new, the "intriguing programming" (The New York Times) and "striking originality" (I Care If You Listen) of the Momenta Festival have been acclaimed by critics and fans alike.

Highlights include a diverse range of composers from Haydn to Han Lash, a world premiere, New York premieres and a performance with guest artist, pianist Amy Yang. Details are below.

"We founded this festival in 2015 as an artistic outlet for each of our individual musical interests," says Momenta violist Stephanie Griffin. "I continue to be surprised to discover new pieces and composers that my Momenta colleagues introduce me to through this festival."

​Admission to all concerts is free. Programs are subject to change.

Saturday, September 30, 7pm and
Sunday, October 1, 7pm
Broadway Presbyterian Church
601 West 114th Street, Manhattan
Admission Free; no reservations needed
Donations to Music for Food benefit Broadway Community

Wednesday, October 4, 7pm and
Thursday, October 5, 7pm
Americas Society 680 Park Ave,
Manhattan Admission Free, reservations required

SEPTEMBER 30 / Broadway Presbyterian Church:
Looking Back — curated by Michael Haas, cello
with Amy Yang, piano
Works spanning three centuries in which each composer was inspired by musical traditions of the past

Program
Han Lash: Suite Remembered and Imagined
Matthew Greenbaum: More Venerable Canons
Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5
Robert Schumann: Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44

OCTOBER 1 / Broadway Presbyterian Church:
Earth and Ether — curated by Emilie-Anne Gendron, violin
Music that articulates the joy and pain of the human experience while also contemplating what lies beyond
​
Program
Elizabeth Brown: Firmament for solo violin ^
Jeffrey Mumford: …amid still and floating depths for string quartet
Julian Anderson: Another Prayer for solo violin*
Julián Carrillo: String Quartet No. 2

​^world premiere, written for Emilie-Anne Gendron
*NY premiere

OCTOBER 4 / Americas Society:
Momenta à la Mode —curated by Stephanie Griffin, viola
Celebrating composers for whom modes are a veritable obsession, moving beyond building blocks to be the actual subject matter of their compositions

Program
Pietro Cerone: Enigma de la escala (transcribed by Sebastian Zubieta)
Julián Carrillo: String Quartet no. 12
Julián Carrillo: Capricho Para Viola
Robert Morris: Carnatic String Quartet

​OCTOBER 5 / Americas Society:
Szene am Bach — curated by Alex Shiozaki, violin
A nature-themed program, ”Scene by the Brook”
​
Program
Eugène Ysaÿe: Sonata No. 2
Ileana Perez Velázquez: River of Life
Somei Satoh: A White Heron
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet Op. 18 No. 6

The Momenta Quartet’s 2023-2024 season is made possible through the generous support of the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Amphion Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
​The 2023 Momenta Festival is supported by The Adele and John Gray Endowment Fund and through the generosity of many individual donors.