“David Lang’s daisy (2024) was co-commissioned by La Biennale di Venezia, Kings Place (UK), String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam, Park Avenue Armory (New York), Isabella Stewart Gardnew Museum (Boston), and Newport Classical with additional support from the Artists Development Fund of the Rhode Island Foundation. The two-time Grammy Award winning Attacca Quartet gave the world premiere in Venice on October 1, 2024, alongside George Crumb’s Black Angels, which had a profound influence on Lang. Subsequent performances followed in Amsterdam, London, Bogota, Newport, and an upcoming one in New York in December. Newport Classical’s performance in the Breakers Mansion Saturday evening did not offer the Crumb but instead followed the Lang US premiere with Bartók’s iconic String Quartet No. 4 BB 95, Sz. 91 (which was last heard at the Newport Festival in 2023 in the Aizuri Quartet’s concert [reviewed HERE]. The second half consisted of Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 6 in F Minor Op. 80.”
-Stephen Martorella, The Boston Musical Intelligencer
