Formosa Quartet | Chamber Concert

About the Formosa Quartet: Winners of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the FORMOSA QUARTET uses the string quartet as a vehicle for advocacy, storytelling, and innovation. Their critically acclaimed performances at venues including the Library of Congress, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, and the Kammermusiksaal at the Berliner Philharmonie have forged uncharted musical terrain that are “spellbinding” (The Strad), “remarkably fine” (Gramophone), and “go beyond the beautiful and into the territory of unexpectedly thrilling… like shots of pure espresso” (MUSO Magazine). Formed in 2002 when the four Taiwanese-descended founders came together for a concert tour of Taiwan, the Formosa Quartet’s cultural identity has since expanded to include broader American, pan-Asian, and Eastern European roots. Their name “Formosa” is taken in its most basic sense: Portuguese for “beautiful.” The founding members’ interest in championing Taiwanese music and Indigenous cultures has since expanded to include the exploration of the rich folk traditions and heritages found in America today. Whether in its uncompromisingly exploratory approach to the standard quartet literature; its socioculturally probing American Mirror Project; or its unique Sets curated from its collection of folk, pop, jazz, and poetry arrangements, the Formosa Quartet is committed to an insatiable search for the fresh and new in string quartet expression. The Formosa Quartet has played a leading role in actively commissioning new works, contributing significantly to the modern string quartet repertory. The ensemble’s milestone album From Hungary to Taiwan (Bridge Records, 2019) includes premiere recordings of three Formosa commissions: Lei Liang’s Song Recollections, Dana Wilson’s Hungarian Folk Songs, and Wei-Chieh Lin’s Five Taiwanese Folk Songs. Other works written and…