Even before the innovative string quartet Brooklyn Rider had given itself a name six years ago, its young members — graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School — began considering projects.

The first was mastering Claude Debussy's String Quartet in G Minor, written in 1889 and a sensual, pivotal work that freed chamber music from old rules regarding structure and classical harmony.

That choice would prove prescient, reflecting Brooklyn Rider's twin passions for embracing and eschewing tradition. On one hand, the Debussy piece is a staple of string quartet repertoire. On the other, it set aside precedent to find inspiration, a Rider hallmark.

"All of us come from very traditional learning," says Brooklyn Rider cellist Eric Jacobsen. "Juilliard and Curtis are the pillars of our world. But a quartet can play music by Haydn, Philip Glass, Bach, (contemporary avant-garde composer) John Zorn or music from Iran. It can be everywhere and be everything, a band for the 21st century."

Looking beyond the standard repertoire is only part of Brooklyn Rider's mission. The greater challenge, and perhaps reward, is returning to the classics equipped with a fresh perspective gleaned elsewhere.

"Being outside our tradition makes it easier to come back in and play a Beethoven quartet because we know what it's like trying to put a piece together," says Jacobsen from his home in Brooklyn. "The joy we get from the struggle is huge."

Brooklyn Rider's circuitous approach grew, in part, from its participation in Yo-Yo Ma's ongoing Silk Road Project, which encourages multicultural exchange between artists. Jacobsen says collaborating with musicians steeped in different musical languages but pushing the envelope of their own traditions was an epiphany.

He cites Kayhan Kalhor, Iranian master of the kamancheh, a Persian fiddle, as having a special impact on him, Brooklyn Rider violist Nicholas Cords, and violinists Colin Jacobsen (Eric's brother) and Johnny Gandelsman. Colin, the group's in-house composer, has written music specifically to include Kalhor.

"When I play Bach, my bowing is different now from what it was prior to meeting Kayhan," says Eric.

Playing Colin's original works from inception has also reinforced Brooklyn Rider's conviction that penetrating the content of a composition is at least as important as technical virtuosity.

"There are many different approaches to finding the spirit of a piece," says Jacobsen. "Embracing the composer and his time, the sounds he was hearing, the context of his thinking — all that brings music to life."

In an email, TownMusic director and cellist Joshua Roman says Brooklyn Rider "has a unique energy onstage. Their closeness allows especially intense sharing and communication to take place between each member of the quartet and the audience."

Jacobsen says moments when the quartet shares high inspiration are remarkable.

"The feeling in which we leave our physical bodies during a performance is precious. I feel my bow is pushed and pulled by another member of the quartet, or by an audience member. It's a feeling of love and sorrow and lust and greed for closeness."

Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@gmail.com