The Kruger Brothers with The Kontras Quartet at The Blue Ridge Music Center
presented in celebration of The Blue RIdge Parkway Foundation's 25th Anniversary
Born and raised in Europe, brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger started singing and playing instruments at a very young age. The brothers were performing regularly by the time they were 11 and 12 years old. In 1995, they became a trio with the addition of bass player Joel Landsberg, a native of New York City. Today, the trio is based out of Wilkesboro, N.C., and is known for an incomparable sound, that blends bluegrass with elements of classical music.In 2006, Jens began a venture into the themes and forms of classical music when he was commissioned to write the work, Music from the Spring, for banjo, guitar, bass, and full symphonic orchestra. Since then, he has received three commissions to write classical pieces which The Kruger Brothers have performed with orchestral ensembles. In 2013, he wrote Lucid Dreamer, a chamber music piece specifically for and commissioned by the Chicago-based ensemble Kontras Quartet. https://krugerbrothers.com/
Admired for their "superlative artistry" The Kontras Quartet has established an international following for their vibrant and nuanced performances. The "superb Chicago-based ensemble" (Gramophone Magazine) has been lauded for their 'crisp precision' and 'enjoyable musical personality'. Kontras means contrasts in the Afrikaans language - fitting for a string ensemble whose colorful repertoire spans centuries, genres, and continents. The Kontras Quartet's recent and upcoming engagements include international tours of South Africa and Switzerland; broadcasts on classical radio stations nationwide (including Performance Today and a 3-month residency with Chicago's WFMT 98.7 fm); performances at Chicago's Symphony Center and the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.; and television appearances on NBC and PBS. The Kontras Quartet records for MSR Classics and has released three critically acclaimed albums. The second, Lucid Dreamer, features a septet that Kontras commissioned in 2013 with a generous Chamber Music America-awarded grant. The work treads the line between classical music and American folk and invigorates Kontras' ongoing collaboration with the esteemed Kruger Brothers trio, as does their 2017 release, the Roan Mountain Suite. https://www.kontrasquartet.com/