Opening Bach to the World
A Lunchtime Discussion with Catalyst Quartet

How do musicians promote cultural inclusion through a body of work that stems mostly from a European tradition? Members of Catalyst Quartet share how they approached that goal through the CD project featuring their arrangement of the Goldberg Variations. This moderated discussion touches on the process of adapting the Variations for string quartet and how that effort was a factor in creating Catalyst’s “voice” in its first commercial recording. The session also includes a discussion about classical artists branching into composing and redefining the role of performer as interpreter to performer as interpreter, composer, and arranger.