The Strad: ‘A string quartet is like a family’: catching up with the Katarina Quartet
On Sunday 26 April, the Katarina Quartet will perform a wide range of repertoire at the Schneider Concerts at the New School’s Auditorium. The performance is one of the latest engagements in the emerging ensemble’s busy concert calendar – a result of it being Juilliard graduate quartet in residence and grand prize winners of the 2025 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
The quartet, comprising violinists Jeanel Liang and Jérôme Chiasson, violist Celia Morin and cellist Maya Enstad, will give the New York premiere of Vivian Fung’s String Quartet no.5 ‘Spiraling’, plus a performance of Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 50 No. 2. The programme concludes with the Katarina Quartet joining forces with the Ulysses Quartet in Mendelssohn’s epic Octet.
The Katarina Quartet chats with The Strad about its upcoming performance this weekend, as well as season highlights and collaborating with the Ulysses Quartet.
Tell us about the stylistic writing of Vivian Fung’s String Quartet no.5 ‘Spiraling’. Any particular reason why it has that name? What are some technical and ensemble challenges that you’ve come across in this work.
Fung’s fifth quartet was written as a response to global events in 2021. To us, the word ’Spiraling’ really captures that era - beyond the feeling of global panic we experienced, as artists the pandemic meant spending ample time practising alone and missing the type of camaraderie and inspiration we find by making music together.
We hear this wandering anxiety throughout Fung’s piece; untethered, sometimes close and concentrated, sometimes far away and murmuring. Yet, amid the chaos, we find glimpses of grounding and hope in melodic lines, reminding us that even during difficult times, the things that matter to us still exist.
An exciting challenge in putting this piece together has been Fung’s extensive use of texture to convey emotion. Her writing often requires high technical precision (there are a lot of notes in this piece!) while at the same time a flowing, light and effortless touch. This results in shimmering colours in which notes are impossible to discern.