Biography
The icarus Quartet, occasionally rendered as iQ, maintains its home in Baltimore, Maryland. All four musicians first connected at the Yale School of Music, where the ensemble originated as a graduate project; praise from composition chair Martin Bresnick encouraged them to continue beyond the academic setting. Instrumentation follows the model of Bartók’s Sonata for two pianos and percussion—two pianists alongside two percussionists—although that particular score has not become a central focus of their repertoire. Founding members Larry Weng and Yevgeny Yontov on piano were joined by Matt Keown and Jeff Stern on percussion; Christopher Goodpasture assumed Yontov’s role in 2022.
While each player maintains an independent career, the quartet’s shared identity gained traction after collecting awards such as the American Prize for 2017-2018, the season in which they also served as ensemble-in-residence at St. David’s Church in Baltimore, and first prize at the 2019 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. Appearances have taken them to the New Music Gathering in Ohio, the Queens New Music Festival in New York, and Maryland’s Music in the Valley, among numerous other festivals. New works have arisen through sustained partnerships with composers including Liliya Ugay and Ruby Fulton. The group has conducted workshops on composing for percussion ensembles at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Bridgeport University, and Bowling Green State University, as well as additional institutions. During 2022 the quartet completed a residency at the Vienna Summer Music Festival and issued its debut recording, Big Things, on the Furious Artisans label.
While each player maintains an independent career, the quartet’s shared identity gained traction after collecting awards such as the American Prize for 2017-2018, the season in which they also served as ensemble-in-residence at St. David’s Church in Baltimore, and first prize at the 2019 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. Appearances have taken them to the New Music Gathering in Ohio, the Queens New Music Festival in New York, and Maryland’s Music in the Valley, among numerous other festivals. New works have arisen through sustained partnerships with composers including Liliya Ugay and Ruby Fulton. The group has conducted workshops on composing for percussion ensembles at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Bridgeport University, and Bowling Green State University, as well as additional institutions. During 2022 the quartet completed a residency at the Vienna Summer Music Festival and issued its debut recording, Big Things, on the Furious Artisans label.
Albums
