JACK Quartet is breaking new ground with "viscerally exciting performances" (New York Times) of "explosive virtuosity" (Boston Globe). Alex Ross (New Yorker) proclaimed their performance of Iannis Xenakis' complete string quartets as being "exceptional" and "beautifully harsh," and Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times) called their sold-out performances of Georg Friedrich Haas' String Quartet No. 3 In iij. Noct. "mind-blowingly good." JACK's recording of Xenakis' complete string quartets appeared on "Best Of" lists from the Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, New Yorker, NPR, and Time Out New York as "one of 2009's most impressive recordings." The quartet has recently performed to critical acclaim at the Library of Congress, Miller Theatre, Morgan Library, and Kimmel Center with upcoming performances at the Darmstadt Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik (Germany), Garth Newel Music Center, Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Netherlands), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Ultraschall Festival für neue Musik (Germany), Wigmore Hall (UK), and the Arcana Festival (Austria).

Comprising violinists Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violist John Pickford Richards, and cellist Kevin McFarland, the JACK Quartet is focused on the commissioning and performance of new works, leading them to work closely with composers Helmut Lachenmann, György Kurtág, Matthias Pintscher, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, Elliott Sharp, Beat Furrer, Caleb Burhans, and Aaron Cassidy.

The quartet has recently performed to critical acclaim at the Library of Congress, Miller Theatre, Morgan Library, and Kimmel Center with upcoming performances at the Garth Newel Music Center, Donaueschinger Musiktage (Germany), Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Netherlands), Festival Internacional Cervantino (Mexico), Ultraschall Festival für neue Musik (Germany), Wigmore Hall (UK), and the Arcana Festival (Austria). Other upcoming appearances include Town Hall Seattle, multiple performances in Los Angeles, Huntsville Chamber Music Guild, the 10th Annual Cal State Fullerton New Music Festival: Strings of the 21st Century and in France at the festival "Flâneries de Reims."

JACK has led workshops with young composers at Columbia University, New York University, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Victoria, the University of Iowa, and the University of Washington. In addition to working with composers and performers, the JACK Quartet seeks to broaden and diversify the potential audience for new music through educational presentations designed for a variety of ages, backgrounds, and levels of musical experience.

The members of the quartet met while attending the Eastman School of Music, and they have since studied with the Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Muir String Quartet, and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.

Please note that Christopher Otto is on paternal leave and will be replaced by Caleb Burhans for this performance.

Ari Streisfeld, violin
Caleb Burhans, violin
John Pickford Richards, viola
Kevin McFarland, cello

JackQuartet.com

Born in 1968 in Vienna my career starts as a DJ in a Viennese gay bar called "Motto" in 1982. Together with my studio partner DJ PURE I create the project ILSA GOLD and release the first 12 Up on the label Mainframe in 1992. Catchy samples paired with an ironic breeze is the trademark of Ilsa Gold, the tracks UP and SILKE become celebrated anthems of the Rave- and Technoscene with numerous performances all over Europe following.

The release of the album DIE ZIPFELMUETZE, DER HANDWAGEN UND DIE GUMMIMUSCHI on our own label GSICHT WIA DA BEIDL VON AN OIDN MANN RECORDS in 1995 shows the God of Techno Sven Vaeth with a prick cap on the cover and provokes a middle sized scandal in Germany.

In the same time I publish serious productions on the labels CHEAP, POMELO, LABWORKS and TEST TUBE and found the the retro-hardcore label PETRA in 1996. With PUNK ANDERSON - SHAVE THAT PUSSY I herald the 80s trash revival and succeed with I'M A DISCO DANCER (Gigolo / XL) in the worldwide clubscene. With the persiflage of a frustrated electronic nerd called GERHARD I shine on the label Wiener Stadtwerke and as ROY EDEL I foresee a sad and folksy future to rave-music. In the following years my activities are limited to remixing, amongst others Pulp, Chicks On Speed, Stereo Total and Divine.

In 2002 I strike back with my own productions on Cheap and Giant Wheel and with ACID JOSEPH I cover the Ecstasy Club classic I LOVE THE ACID. For the ten year anniversary of Ilsa Gold I produce the double CD REGRETTEN? RIEN! on Mego and re-release my album Jeans & Electronic on the Combination Records' Forever Young series. HOUSE 2 as a sequel to House appears on Cheap in November 2004 and I decide to focus all of my attention to the production of a long play record - my first since Jeans & Electronic in 1997.

ROLAND FLICK FAIRMONT PRINCESS ..1527 is the result, describing my present ideas about producing electronic music for more than one decade. The first take of it POPPER, followed by the Tricky Disco cover DISCO 128 is a co-production with my brother RAPHAEL and portrays the euphoric and innocent feeling of the first Techno parties in the early 90s - a time far away from the current postelectronic reflection.