Summer With The Juilliard String Quartet

[JSngry]

I got these sets lined up and am thinking that a total immersion summer is in order. Any commentary in advance is certainly welcome!

I know the later 1969(?) Bartok, but not this earlier one. Also excited that the earliest recordings are weighted towards more (then) recent composers.

Summer's almost here and the time is right for chillin' in the AC.

[HutchFan]

Sounds like a fun summer project.

 

[JSngry]

Should be, yeah!

Thinking about adding the Complete Beethoven Quartets 1964-1970 box, but not sure if this is the best group for that? Opinions welcome.

[JSngry]

Summer's here and the time is right!

Technically, a Milhaud record, but included here for the JSQ's appearance on side one backing Madeleine Milhaud's recitations, which are mostly lost on me. not speaking French. Lotte Lenya in German, I can get. This, not so much. Someday, perhaps.

But quite the treat indeed is "Side Two", Milhaud at the piano alone. It's gorgeous.

 

[JSngry]

Milton Babbitt's use of the term "tonic sonority" in these liner notes is generating a parade of lightbulbs about all kinds of music, beginning but not ending with Sonny Rollins.

[JSngry]

I was advised at one point to look for interpretations of these works with a "Hungarian" flavor, and I'm glad I did.

These 1950 readings do not have that, and it's boldly apparent. But what they do have is a brash mid-century boldness of "modernity" and the works more than hold up to it.

Either way, miraculous music.

[JSngry]

In my next life, I will do my damnedest to make sure that I get to this music at the earliest opportunity, study it thoroughly, and reach an old age without a strong sense of regret fow not having done so.

 

[JSngry]

Berg has for me always been the "warmest" of the "Big 3" of the Second Viennese School. The Juilliard reading here doesn't really play to that warmth, but it certainly doesn't sacrifice passion or other feelings.

AFAIK, this 1950 version appears on CD for the first time here. The JSQ would record it again for RCA in 1959. Comparisons should be interesting, but that's for another set later this summer!

[T.D.]

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.

[JSngry]

Happy Listening!

The Emerson was the one that really got me going, but since then, I've just sorta looked for different versions from different eras and regions. The music stands up to that sort of "different angles" approach. Really remarkable compositions.

Right now, I'm keeping an open ticket for the Beethoven & Bartok cycles. Elliot Carter's too, but there's not a lot of options there yet.

I guess it's the old section player in me, but a good string quartet and a good saxophone section can reach me when nothing else can.

NP:

The put this in the same CD as the Berg and ...that explains a lot of things LOL

[T.D.]

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.

[JSngry]

I want more time...

[JSngry]

I remain largely a non-fan of Copland, but this Ellis Kohs guy has written something here that has a lot of weight and is executed here with a bit of grace.

Good to have some more of the Modern American Music Series. There are more to come. Maybe Juilliard was Columbia's house quartet for projects such as this? 

Good times!

 

[T.D.]

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

 

[JSngry]

I will look for that. I also keep an open ticket for Powell the composer. Thanks!

[Teasing the Korean]

My love for Ginastera and modern sculpture collided on this LP. 

 

[JSngry]

15 hours ago, JSngry said:

I remain largely a non-fan of Copland, but this Ellis Kohs guy has written something here that has a lot of weight and is executed here with a bit of grace.

Good to have some more of the Modern American Music Series. There are more to come. Maybe Juilliard was Columbia's house quartet for projects such as this? 

Good times!

 

The Copland piece sounds better to me in daylight...up to a point. But those syncopations cumulatively strike me as a sourcebook for too many Broadway shows...