ETHEL

During the first decade of the 21st century, the New York-based string quartet Ethel moved into a position analogous to that held by the Kronos Quartet during the 1980s and '90s, stretching the boundaries of the conventions of string quartet literature by incorporating new technologies as well as the aesthetics of progressive popular music. While the Kronos Quartet has focused more and more on the realm of non-Western music in the new century, Ethel has made technology an integrated element of its style and has developed the depth and breadth of its engagement with Western vernacular music. It draws its repertoire from pieces written as early as the last third of the 20th century, but it concentrates most strongly on music written since the mid-'90s. In 2024, Ethel issued the album Persist, performing works by Allison Loggins-Hull, Xavier Muzik, Migiwa Miyajima, Sam Wu, and Anne Lanzilotti.