Tag Archives: string quartet

While Ian Anderson has put out several albums of new material in recent years, he seems happy to rework old successes too. Reviving classic Jethro Tull material for string quartet is a striking new twist. The result is a serious lark: lighthearted but with plenty of creative depth.

The members of this adventurous quartet proved themselves masters of tonal variation, broad technique, and compositional creativity in a fascinating program that transformed and adapted Bach and Haydn and presented modern works that nod to the Baroque.

The Cypress finishes recording all Beethoven's string quartets with this further testament to the composer's overall genius and the forward-pressing aspects of these relatively early but towering works. The Op. 18 quartets on this two-CD set are full of harmonic riches, rhythmic intricacy, and emotional complexity, all fully evident under the Cypress musicians' expert fingers.

Jefferson Friedman's sharply modernistic but accessible new 'The Heart Wakes Into' paired nicely with Brahms's Quintet in F minor at the Metropolitan Museum.

The musicians established their interlocked feels for the ebb and flow of the music right off. With grace and power they brought out the Romantic spirit of the music as well as the proto-Modernism in Brahms's unexpected harmonies and transitions.

The composer integrated modern 20th century styles and folk music from North Africa and elsewhere in his six string quartets.

The composer integrated modern 20th century styles and folk music from North Africa and elsewhere in his string quartets.

Full of creative energy and stellar musicianship, this evocative collaboration is more than the sum of its parts.