T.D.

Yes, David Beardsley who I recall going way back to rec.music.classical.contemporary days, long before I knew of this forum. There are some good Ben Johnston interviews on the interwebs: Ben Johnston Interview with Bruce Duffie . . . . . . . Paris Transatlantic: Johnston Interview A Conversation with Ben Johnston - New Music USA

Looks like he just does complete cycles. Earliest thereof for Bartok SQ is Juilliard 1 (1950) on Pearl. To my surprise. Your inquiry is interesting, but I don't even know how to research it! Maybe it's closely tied in with the history of the classical recording industry. Pretty wild that the first recording was 1925 or later, considering that SQ #1 was first performed in 1910!

Thanks. I stumbled across those last week, wondered if they were good but never followed up.

Finished up with the Ben Johnston quartets. The more I listen to these, the more I like them and the more "important" I consider them. But not "easy listening".

Thanks. I'm familiar with the site from Google and the author's posts on a classical forum. He tries hard to be comprehensive, and does the same thing for lots of other classical cycles. I actually consulted the site for my Bartok SQ addition, and have also read his LvB piano sonata and SQ surveys.

Thanks for the tip. I was fortunate to cop the Eternal Myth Revealed set when Stefan Wood was a big seller here. And I have a Campbell discography in Szwed's book. On the negative side of the ledger, I'm an old fart and have been too much of a Luddite to go the download route, so grouping by date or session looks like a daunting project.

I think Sun Ra LLC has been killing it with Ra reissues, quantity, quality and sound-wise. Hard to imagine Mosaic stepping into their bailiwick. More than happy to "build my own".

The Ben Johnston (microtonal) string quartet cycle. Starting with this, the other 2 discs probably later.

I'm culling the Novak Quartet (Philips) recording which I dislike (on the Pay it Forward thread if anyone cares) and replacing it with an ultra-"Hungarian" version, Végh mono 1954. I have the Végh 1970s Beethoven set (Valois) and am curious about earlier vintage recordings by them.

Couple of small local things this weekend Paul Pinto and James Ilgenfritz Saturday, part of a new improv series @ a revived venue Tani Tabbal Quartet Sunday

I have a CD of this. Something you might want to check out: Carter (played by the dedicatees), Babbitt and Mel Powell (!)

Great album.

Matthew Shipp seems to think there is. In his "Black Mystery School Pianists" essay there's an enigmatic paragraph: I have wrestled with whether Elmo Hope belongs in the group. I am not sure. I go back and forth for different reasons. If he is, a lot of it would be because of his influence on Hasaan Ibn Ali, who is another extreme of an ultimate example of this. Sadly, Shipp doesn't elaborate. [I recalled seeing this passage but it took a while to remember the source. I just reread 2 Hasaan CD booklets, one of which was written by Shipp but does not posit any influence, and got the idea to revisit his famous essay.]

Homecoming is one of my favorites, too. More upbeat than many Elmo albums. Just noticed: kind of strange that the above 2 covers use the same photo.

The old Carter recordings by the Composers Quartet are really good, but I think they only did three: 2 on Nonesuch and 1 on Music and Arts. Might be some cheap LPs out there. Complete sets I can only think of Arditti (#5 is an add-on to prior 1-4), Juilliard and Pacifica.

Jim, you've motivated me to get serious about the Bartok SQ. I owned the Novak Qt. recording (Philips) for many many years, but their rendition never registered/resonated so I thought I was a moron/Philistine for "not getting" these works. Came by (free) the Emerson version a few years ago and find that much more enjoyable. Spun it this week and am beginning to appreciate the quartets. I selectively like the Emersons (love their Ives, for instance) and they're certainly technically proficient. Now I'm going to try the other end of the interpretation spectrum with a more "Hungarian" recording. So many versions out there that researching takes a while.

Finishing up: #8: Nice track, sounds like a duet on my bad computer sound system. Suspected a name tenor but no guess. I peeked, and then had to sleuth (withheld) due to curiosity about the pianist, who clearly is not "the usual suspect" Cedar Walton. Pianist is a prominent/prolific guy I like a lot but who sometimes gets some stick on the forum. He's in great form here. #9: Far from my usual listening and absolutely no idea about the musicians, but I like it. Especially the bass line. Looking forward to the reveal, particularly for the bassist. #10: Even more of a departure from usual listening and less able to guess. But a good selection. Percussion is most impressive, arrangement also sticks out. #11: Sounds on my computer like a piano-bass-guitar trio with really nice and subtle interplay, pianist most likely the leader but perhaps it's billed as a trio. The kind of contemplative moody selection I usually like and do here. I peeked at the ECM hints but don't have any guesses and am not sure it's 21st century...could (though less likely) be as early as 1970s. Even though I'm not a big ECM enthusiast, this is a recording I'd consider picking up. Thanks for a most enjoyable BFT. After seeing Jim's reveal, I feel silly about dissing #5, but I've never related to that particular ensemble as much as some others with the estimable leader. Tracks #2, 4, 9 and 11 the most thought-provoking. The #7 leader is always a welcome guest!

Massive surprise. I honestly thought it was an April Fools-type hoax. Music-wise I'm thrilled. However, I've been downsizing and had sworn to purchase no more Mosaic sets since I can no longer abide their bulky format. So probably not.

Whoa, the album's not that scarce. I had only looked for discogs US $ sellers. Currently just one, used, at a high but not exorbitant price. Amazon (where I rarely look any more) has it new at a midrange price. Available used for a song if I wanna roll the dice on ex-library. Label seems to be part of the outhere portfolio, which includes Werner's ezz-thetics in jazzland and a bunch of estimable classical labels, so it's probably still extant.

Have considered acquiring this before, but physical media scarce.