Attacca Quartet

Based in New York, Attacca Quartet concentrate on the works of 20th and 21st century composers without excluding earlier masters. Acclaimed for their mature interpretive ability after forming at Juilliard in the mid-2000s, their recordings have spanned Haydn (an original arrangement for 2015′s Haydn: Seven Last Words) and composer premieres (Michael Ippolito’s Songlines in 2017), as well as interpretations of contemporary electronic music (Real Life, 2021).
Violinists Amy Schroeder and Keiko Tokunaga, violist Luke Fleming, and cellist Andrew Yee founded Attacca Quartet as students at Juilliard School in 2003. Their professional debut took place at Carnegie Hall in 2007. The ensemble was the Juilliard Graduate Resident String Quartet from 2011 to 2013, and they made their recording debut in 2013 with Fellow Traveler: The Complete String Quartet Works of John Adams. Released by Azica Records, it included liner notes by the composer. Attacca Quartet then served as the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Quartet in Residence during the 2014-2015 season. Consisting of an original arrangement by Yee of Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross, Haydn: Seven Last Words arrived in March 2015.
Fleming left the group and violist Nathan Schram was made an official member before the quartet looked to the 21st century for source material on 2017′s Songlines. It marked the debut recording of composer Michael Ippolito. The following year, Steinway & Sons issued three works for strings (Attacca Quartet) and piano (Jeanne Golan) by 20th century composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg. The group next took on six string-quartet pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. Titled Orange, it was one of the first three releases issued by the partnership of New Amsterdam Records and Nonesuch in 2019; it won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.
Attacca Quartet signed to Sony Classical, and the first of two releases in 2021 was Real Life, consisting of pieces written by electronic and indie artists such as Flying Lotus, Louis Cole, Mid-Air Thief, and guest collaborators Squarepusher and Daedelus (TOKiMONSTA was also featured on one track). ~ Marcy Donelson