Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Equal Measures

American kinetic sculptor Alexander Calder may be most famous for inventing the mobile, but he didn’t stop there. The artist’s sense of humor spilled into five suitcases: That’s what it took to pack up the clockwork circus he perfected in early 20th-century Paris, complete with tiny metal acrobats and animals doing tricks. The cutting-edge Calder Quartet embraces its namesake’s notion of multidisciplinary fun. A chamber group that dabbles in nontraditional contemporary compositions, it seeks a balletic balance of risky repertoire with more traditional fare. The ensemble suspends and sustains phrases in a Chandler Center concert pairing Mozart and Beethoven string quartets with a Czech-accented piece by British avant-garde guitarist Fred Frith. Tire-kicking types (Calder was one) can get a free foretaste at 1 p.m. in Randolph’s Three Bean Café.