Brooklyn Rider

Not at all: The string quartet, a formation of yesterday. If you're looking for proof to the contrary, you'll find it with the Brooklyn Rider, which is just as at home in the jazz club as it is in the concert hall. It stands for a contemporary, modern form of quartet playing.

The Brooklyn Riders, whose name is inspired by the artists' group "The Blue Rider," have "recreated the 300-year-old form of the string quartet as a vibrant, creative 21st-century ensemble," finds National Public Radio. They've even been compared to "motocross daredevils" who "can pull off any stunt." In any case, the four string riders are all too happy to give one of the most established genres in music history a fresh cell treatment. A performance style without taboos and a promise to the future!