Classical Score: National Stage Is Next Step For Ethel

Now that it has dazzled critics and hipsters around New York, the string quartet known as Ethel is poised to bring its downtown, genre-bending sensibilities to a larger audience.

The self-titled debut by Ethel—violinists Todd Reynolds and Mary Rowell, violist Ralph Farris and cellist Dorothy Lawson—will be released Oct. 14 by maverick New York-based independent Cantaloupe Music. The disc comes on the heels of the quartet's appearance at Italy's prestigious Venice Biennale this month and in time for October performances at the Library of Congress and the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival.

The works chosen for the recording are audience favorites from Ethel's live shows, in which the quartet deftly blends styles from classical and jazz to funk and rock.

But Ethel is no classical crossover gimmick. As Rowell notes, the group's members want to "encourage composers from outside the strictly classical world to explore the possibilities of using the string quartet as a viable instrument."

To that end, Ethel offers compositions by a diverse range of artistic voices. Among them is Reynolds, who penned the hard-driving "uh . . . it all happened so fast." Also contributing are Phil Kline ("The Blue Room and Other Stories"), who is perhaps best-known for his experimental work with ambient electronica; bass clarinetist Evan Ziporyn ("Be-In"), who heads the music department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is one of the world's foremost players of Balinese gamelan; and John King, whose bluesy, dobro-inspired "Sweet Hardwood" reflects his love of American roots music.

Cantaloupe label manager Ken Thomson calls Ethel "one of our highest priorities of the year"; label and group say this release signals the beginning of a long-term collaboration.



NONESUCH AT CENTER STAGE: Leaf through the brochure for the opening season of Carnegie Hall's newest performing space, Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall, and you'll find the Nonesuch logo scattered throughout its pages. That's the result of a new and groundbreaking partnership between the legendary, majestic hall and the trendsetting label, appropriately dubbed Nonesuch at Carnegie.

Beginning with Zankel's first concert on Sept. 12—conducted by a Nonesuch stalwart, composer John Adams (who serves as Carnegie's composer-in-residence)—Nonesuch has a heavy presence at all three of Carnegie's recital halls this season. More than 20 concerts feature luminaries from violinist Gidon Kremer to soprano Dawn Upshaw, as well as noted musicians from the jazz, world music, pop and musical theater worlds.

The partners have natural affinities, as both Nonesuch and Zankel are positioning themselves to appeal to savvy, sophisticated audiences who won't be fenced in by genre or stylistic labels.



SPEAKING OF NEWCOMERS: I'm stepping into some big shoes here as the new Classical Score columnist. My hope is that this space can serve not only as an observation post for the classical music business but also as a forum to discuss where we stand as a community, what's ahead and where we want to go. You can reach me at atsioulcas@billboard.com or by mail at 770 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10003.