Diderot String Quartet—named after the eighteenth-century French philosopher and Boccherini enthusiast Denis Diderot—brings a fresh approach to works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Wall Street Journal called Diderot’s playing “emotional, riveting, and ultimately cathartic”. Diderot came together in 2012, after having first met at Oberlin Conservatory and The Juilliard School. The four musicians share a background in historical performance and a passion for the string quartet genre; they found the thrill of exploring the quartet repertoire on period instruments to be irresistible.
Recent and upcoming engagements for Diderot String Quartet include a repeat appearance at Music Before 1800 in New York in celebration of the series’ 50th anniversary season, as well as Chamber Music Pittsburgh, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Lincoln Friends of Chamber Music (NE), Chamber Music Corvallis (OR), Friends of Chamber Music Vancouver and Early Music Vancouver, Early Music Society of the Islands (Victoria, BC), Helicon Foundation (NYC), Music in the Somerset Hills (Bernardsville, NJ), Rockefeller University’s Tri-I Noon Recital Series (NYC), Carmel Bach Festival (CA), Electric Earth Concerts (Peterborough, NH), and The Crypt Sessions in New York. Diderot has also been featured in performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, and the Morgan Library.
Diderot String Quartet served as Quartet-in-Residence at Washington National Cathedral for five seasons, and served as guest faculty for Oberlin’s Baroque Performance Institute. The quartet commissioned and premiered Small Infinities, a new work for gut strings from composer Lembit Beecher, and collaborates frequently with internationally acclaimed artists, including Jesse Blumberg, Dashon Burton, David Breitman, Avi Stein, and Harry Bicket. Diderot has a forthcoming album of Haydn String Quartets, Op. 20, Nos. 2 and 4.
Ensemble Members
Johanna Novom violin
Adriane Post violin
Kyle Miller viola
Paul Dwyer violoncello
“A Lesson in Early Music”
Enveloped in the rich sound of period strings, the quartet as performed by Diderot was emotional, riveting and ultimately cathartic. Diderot isn’t the only early-music group trying to revive interest in the genre, but it’s right up there with the best in the field.
The Wall Street Journal
Hannah Niemeier
26 April, 2019