String Quartet in G Major,
Op. 33 No. 5
II. Largo e cantabile
Joseph Haydn
12.20.2023 / The Beo Sessions
III. Scherzo: Allegro
12.20.2023 / The Beo Sessions
String Quartet No. 1 in F Major,
Op. 18 No. 1
I. Allegro con brio
Ludwig van Beethoven
10.17.2022 / The Beo Sessions
II. Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato
9.29.2022 / Live at Temple University Ambler
String Quartet No.8, op.110
Dmitri Shostakovich
9.24.2022 / Live at Atelier at Flowerfield
People
Sean Neukom
11.30.2022 / Produced at NeuKraft Studios
Blue
Sean Neukom
3.13.2022 / Live at NeuKraft Studios
Triggerland
Part i: the Finding
Sean Neukom
5.29.2023 / First video in 8-part series
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triggerLand
Released May 25th, 2023
TriggerLand was created in response to a burning question being asked all over the United States: How does a society move forward in the face of unwillingness to consider new conversation or opposing points of view? “The fictional gun creation myth told by triggerLand is but a vehicle for addressing a larger issue,” writes Sean Neukom. About the music, he says, “Featuring the virtuosic nature of the string quartet, the principal developing material of the music is found in the quartet writing, though the drum parts also play a major role.”
Each track embodies a different style of the progressive rock, metal, or indie rock genres through the lens of chamber music and modern composition.” The musical and thematic influences on triggerLand derive from a multitude of rock, pop, film, and classical sources. Hip-hop, stoner rock, Spaghetti Westerns, Dream Theater, Radiohead, and Civil War movies are but some of the sources of inspiration for the project.
“Neukom’s imaginative string writing (supplemented by drums), brilliantly performed by the BSQ, creates a dazzling sonic evocation of a rock band’s electronic instruments and percussion.
Further the music, built upon the foundation of muscular, insistent rhythms, is teeming with irrepressible energy and force. In short, it’s rock music, and a superb manifestation of that genre.”
-Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine
131
Released January 31, 2023
131 is a classical concept album featuring a curated trio of works: Enthusiasm Strategies by American composer Missy Mazzoli, 19|20 by Beo violist and composer Sean Neukom, and Beethoven’s celebrated Opus 131. Each work flourishes on its own, but the listener will hear a wonderous coalescence between each work when hearing the album in its entirety.
131 traces a powerful narrative arc from the current disintegration of art and humanity to a final triumph of purpose and renewal.
“The Beo SQ delivers a sterling performance of Beethoven’s miraculous work. The Quartet adopts a lean, transparent, singing tone, exquisitely balanced throughout the ensemble. There is also a keen sense of progression, with streamlined, judicious tempos and application of rubato. Above all, the Beo is ever-attentive to the remarkable hairpin emotional twists and turns of Beethoven’s narrative.”
-Ken Meltzer, Fanfare magazine
Ghosts Revisited
Released October 21, 2021
Performed by string quartet, guitar, bass, drums, and vocals, this is Beo String Quartet's take on personal transformation.
"We all change as we have different life experiences," says producer Sean Neukom. "Ghosts Revisited is about experiences that are intense--the things that cause someone to basically break out of their old skin. The heavier sound world of progressive rock helps us to access this intensity." The highly poetic, fragmentary lyrics take listeners right to the edge of consciousness, telling a story that is more felt than understood.
“If you’re looking for something completely different, Beo String Quartet and Ghosts Revisited could be just the thing you’re looking for. With excellent instrumental sections and atmosphere building, the musicianship is impressive throughout.”
— Vinyl Chapters
Heart Sleeve Triptych
Released April 19, 2021
This is the debut classical concept album for Beo’s in-house label, NeuKraft Records.
Works by Kyle Sanna (Sequence for Minor White), Kerrith Livengood (This is my Scary Robot Voice), and Felix Mendelssohn (Quartet in A Minor) join together in Heart sleeve Triptych for an intensely psychological listening experience.