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Arts

Classical file

By BILL F. FAUCETT
Published August 7, 2005

MAGGINI QUARTET, PETER MAXWELL DAVIES: NAXOS QUARTETS NOS. 3 AND 4 (NAXOS)

The string quartet is a genre that finds little favor with most of today's composers. But in centuries past it was considered among the most desired - and difficult - of compositional pursuits.

Working with an extremely narrow palette of instrumental sounds, composers had to rely on their ability to paint their modest musical materials onto a large canvas according to a strict set of formulas and expectations. At the same time they had to engage their listeners. Little surprise then that modern composers have largely abandoned the string quartet.

Enter Peter Maxwell Davies.

English composer Davies was once a well-known figure in the world of contemporary composition, but his notoriety waned in the 1990s. A handful of masterful modernistic works, including his Eight Songs for a Mad King, made him something of a "bad boy" in conservative British musical circles but, predictably, a celebrity in the United States.

His latest works, the String Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 in an anticipated cycle of 10, will neither impress his critics nor endear him to his followers. But to those of us who fall somewhere in the middle, this music is most appealing.

The quartets alternate uncomfortably between technically interesting and emotionally moving, but are marked by the composer's thorough understanding of string instruments, a wonderful melodic invention, and a clear debt to Bartok.

There is special attraction to the Third Quartet. Its second movement, In Nomine, features full, lush cello solos and an intensely melancholic disposition, while the third movement, Four Inventions and a Hymn, offers a delightful playfulness punctuated by odd, or at least unexpected, rhythms and ingenious textural changes. The one-movement Quartet No. 4, Children's Games, lacks the formal clarity of the Third, but if you like Bartok, you'll enjoy its special effects.

Taken as a whole, Davies' quartets, commissioned by Naxos, are important additions to an oft-neglected genre. They are beautifully performed, and the recording quality is excellent. Strangely, Davies' liner notes detract from his music and are best left unread. B

- BILL F. FAUCETT, Times correspondent

Naxos' release of Bartok's six string quartets, performed by the Chicago-based Vermeer Quartet, is a fine addition to the huge body of recordings of these works that is already available.

Bartok's quartets, composed between 1908 and 1939, are the standard against which all that have followed are measured. Recording them takes no small amount of fortitude, but the Vermeer has met the challenge and in so doing has shown itself to be one of the nation's leading chamber ensembles.

The Fourth Quartet will always be my favorite, with its moto perpetuo second movement and its groundbreaking fourth movement, which uses solely pizzicato. Both movements are performed with passion and energy.

The earlier quartets receive a similarly effective reading. The Second Quartet, an excellent introduction to Bartok's music, is among the best examples of what the genre can be in the hands of a genius. A

- B.F.F.

[Last modified August 4, 2005, 12:44:05]