Sep 18Sep 20Livestream

Music that evolves before your ears.

Works that bend, morph, and reinvent - where folk tunes become avant-garde anthems, classical forms twist into surreal dreams, and every note holds the thrill of change. Julia Wolfe’s Blue Dress fractures Appalachian fiddle music into something fiercely new, while György Ligeti’s Métamorphoses nocturnes  warps time and texture like moonlight through a prism. And in Joseph Haydn’s Quartet op. 76 No. 6, even 18th-century elegance takes an unexpected turn.

- Curated by Kevin Rogers

Nov 21Nov 22Livestream

Classical Music - deconstructed.

Remember playing with your first instrument-like toy? That sense of discovery is exactly what Friction brings to this concert. This unforgettable concert reimagines classical music through play, curiosity, and sound itself. Nicole Lizée's Another Living Soul  -"stop motion in string quartet form" - unleashes a sandbox of textures and zany invention. Mauricio Kagel's String Quartet No. 1 strips the ensemble to its barest bones, daring your imagination to fill the space. Paul Novak's Impossible Inventions answers with a virtuosic, wildly imaginative journey through every color a string quartet can conjure. Tying it all together: Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 2, a serious masterpiece with a joyfully playful heart hiding inside.

- Curated by Kevin Rogers

Jan 29Jan 30Livestream

Grief can sometimes be joyous

A concert about grief both large and small, the ache of separation and the warmth of togetherness, and everything in between. Two final masterworks anchor the program: Beethoven's enigmatic String Quartet Op. 135, the last piece he ever completed, poses the question that gives this concert its name - Muß es sein? ("Must it be?"). His answer comes swiftly, in simplicity and joy while the other compositions find their own answers. Strauss's Four Last Songs, arranged for string quartet and singer by Otis Harriel, featuring soprano Cara Gabrielson, are a tender love letter - a reflection on two lives fully lived, his and his wife's. Against these towering works stand two contemporary voices: Caroline Shaw's Cant voi l'aube and a world premiere by Bay Area composer Mark Winges - each answering grief's call across centuries, in their own language.

- Curated by Otis Harriel

Apr 2Apr 4Livestream

All the best stories come from within

This program is built on music born from personal experience, centered around Bedřich Smetana's seminal String Quartet No. 1 — an unabashedly autobiographical work that puts his Czech heritage front and center. In a similar spirit, Christos Hatzis's String Quartet No. 1, "Awakening", weaves Inuit throat singing and locomotive engines into a singular, deeply personal and enigmatic musical story. Answering that same call to write from the self, Mitso Floor is composing new material - developed and workshopped by Friction Quartet for its world premiere on this very program.

- Curated by Mitso Floor

Jun 11Jun 13Livestream

Serendipity resulting in ultimate creativity.

Creative people are always putting work into the world, whether that be cold calls, cold emails or chance encounters. Every so often, one of those small acts sparks a partnership that becomes something great. This program is built entirely on those moments: what happens when you click send. Featuring two works by Sina Karachiani - one that arrived unsolicited in Friction Quartet's inbox and one newly commissioned - his music explores identity at the intersection of Western classical and Persian folk traditions. Also on the program: Sami Seif's Orientalism, a deeply personal reckoning with Arab representation in Western culture across history, and Yevgeniy Sharlat's wildly inventive Pencil Sketch, a piece bursting with unbridled creativity.

- Curated by Doug Machiz