PAUL WIANCKO

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Paul Wiancko is an acclaimed composer and cellist of the Kronos Quartet, viola/cello duo Ayane & Paul, and quartet-collective “dream group” (NY Times) Owls. The Washington Post calls Wiancko “a restless and multifaceted talent who plays well with others,” a reference to his collaborations with artists ranging from Max Richter, Chick Corea, and Norah Jones—to members of the Guarneri and JACK quartets—to bands like Arcade Fire, Dirty Projectors, and Wye Oak. “Even with this chronically collaborative spirit,” the Post continues, “Wiancko maintains a singular voice as a composer.”

Paul Wiancko’s own music has been described as “delicate, harmonically rich,” “joyous, hard-driven” (NY Times),  “dazzling, compelling” (Star Tribune), and “vital pieces that avoid the predictable” (Allan Kozinn). He has been composer-in-residence at Spoleto Festival USA, Caramoor, Music from Angel Fire, Portland Chamber Music Festival, and numerous others, and has recently been commissioned by Alisa Weilerstein, Alexi Kenney, Brooklyn Chamber Music Society, and the St. Lawrence, Kronos, Aizuri, Calder, and Attacca Quartets. NPR writes, “If Haydn were alive to write a string quartet today, it may sound something like Paul Wiancko’s LIFT”—a piece that “teems with understanding of and affection for the string-quartet tradition” (NY Times).

Photo: Dario Acosta