Twentieth Century Chamber Music
Posted by: herm on 13 October 2002
Darius Milhaud
Complete String Quartets
For the past few weeks I have been listening to Milhaud's String Quartets, and I have to say they have been growing upon me in a way I had not expected.
Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974) was one of the Groupe des Six composers (like Francis Poulenc and Eric Satie) and an unusually prolific one, with a catalogue comprising 450 pieces. He wrote 18 string quartets, which now have been recorded by the Paris Quartet (Quator Parisii) for the indispensable Naïve label. The booklet says this ensemble played the Milhaud Fourth Quartet for the first time in 1984, with Milhaud's widow Madeleine in the audience, and they made a vow to her to record the entire oeuvre one day.
I'm glad they did. This box contains five CDs with excellent booklets each, and from the Fifth quartet (1920) onwards this music is very special, and by the time the war years have arrived (Milhaud spent the war in the Americas), this is uniquely beautiful music.
Milhaud doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve the way Shostakovich does. It's modern music, so it doesn't necessarily have the clearly delineated vocal phrases of classical writing (though sometimes it does). It's French music (with a distinct Latin / Mediterreanean slant: Milhaud grew up in the Provence) so there's a cerebral element. The 14th and 15th quartet were composed in such a way (1948-49) that they can be played as quartets, but they can be played simultaneously, too, as an octet. Spectacular, of course, but actually I prefer the 15th as a quartet.
I really prefer his wartime quartets, say, nr 9 (1935, admittedly), through 13 (1946). Quartet nr 11, (1942) with a great, tragic slow movement, and 18 (1950) with an extraordinary slow opening movement are perhaps the best ways to begin.
It's great music to chill out to. Many of these movements, particularly the slow movements ask for a repeat to let the discourse seep into your mind one more time. The finales are invariably fun, festive, 'Latin' pieces.
OK, so this isn't Beethoven, Mozart or Shostakovich. But it is definitely in the next tier. It's just very interesting music. A couple of times I have thought, let's post about it, and then I felt, no, I want to listen some more. It's mysterious music in exactly the right way. One's intrigued, and one will never find out exactly why. And if you're really interested in twentieth century string quartets, I feel this ought to be in your collection.
I'm opening a new thread, too, to invite contributions on modern chamber music, please. StephenJohn. Jack Rubinson, Ross Blackman, Todd Arola, Nick Lees, JarrettH, what have you been up to in this department?
I'm curious
Herman
Complete String Quartets
For the past few weeks I have been listening to Milhaud's String Quartets, and I have to say they have been growing upon me in a way I had not expected.
Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974) was one of the Groupe des Six composers (like Francis Poulenc and Eric Satie) and an unusually prolific one, with a catalogue comprising 450 pieces. He wrote 18 string quartets, which now have been recorded by the Paris Quartet (Quator Parisii) for the indispensable Naïve label. The booklet says this ensemble played the Milhaud Fourth Quartet for the first time in 1984, with Milhaud's widow Madeleine in the audience, and they made a vow to her to record the entire oeuvre one day.
I'm glad they did. This box contains five CDs with excellent booklets each, and from the Fifth quartet (1920) onwards this music is very special, and by the time the war years have arrived (Milhaud spent the war in the Americas), this is uniquely beautiful music.
Milhaud doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve the way Shostakovich does. It's modern music, so it doesn't necessarily have the clearly delineated vocal phrases of classical writing (though sometimes it does). It's French music (with a distinct Latin / Mediterreanean slant: Milhaud grew up in the Provence) so there's a cerebral element. The 14th and 15th quartet were composed in such a way (1948-49) that they can be played as quartets, but they can be played simultaneously, too, as an octet. Spectacular, of course, but actually I prefer the 15th as a quartet.
I really prefer his wartime quartets, say, nr 9 (1935, admittedly), through 13 (1946). Quartet nr 11, (1942) with a great, tragic slow movement, and 18 (1950) with an extraordinary slow opening movement are perhaps the best ways to begin.
It's great music to chill out to. Many of these movements, particularly the slow movements ask for a repeat to let the discourse seep into your mind one more time. The finales are invariably fun, festive, 'Latin' pieces.
OK, so this isn't Beethoven, Mozart or Shostakovich. But it is definitely in the next tier. It's just very interesting music. A couple of times I have thought, let's post about it, and then I felt, no, I want to listen some more. It's mysterious music in exactly the right way. One's intrigued, and one will never find out exactly why. And if you're really interested in twentieth century string quartets, I feel this ought to be in your collection.
I'm opening a new thread, too, to invite contributions on modern chamber music, please. StephenJohn. Jack Rubinson, Ross Blackman, Todd Arola, Nick Lees, JarrettH, what have you been up to in this department?
I'm curious
Herman
I personally like Bartok #4 and #5.
I saw the Takacs Qrt. perform #4 last year.
I whole-heartedly recommend the Hagen Quartet complete Bartok quartets! I've always been proud to own it. Emerson's miss the point of some passages or speed through them without giving any particular emphasis and the Juilliard I didn't like either (not as much energy).
I attended the Glenn Gould Prize 2002 ceremony/concert honouring Pierre Boulez this past Sunday - it was live on CBC Radio 2 - he conducted his works too: Eclat, Memoriale, Pli Selon Pli (I, II), Messagesquisse, Derive I, Anthemes II. Interesting to hear and especially see the man live, but there's no way I'd purchase any of it. After seeing it live, I realized why I disliked it even more. It's serial music and beyond. I couldn't even describe his language; it makes serial music sound free (ok bad example hehe
).
I'm a huge Messiaen fan myself....
If you want to get a grasp of his music I'd suggest NOT listening to "Quartet for the End Time" as an introduction. It's probably his most famous work, but not his unique musical language (transcribing bird song for orchestral works and prominently piano). "Oiseaux Exotiques" is his first attempt at this new language and possibly his most popular to come out of it.
Concert a Quatre (1991-92) is another deceptive piece, though unfinished, it has been touched up upon by his wife and recorded (for cello, flute, piano and orchestra). It's a gorgeous piece. Very much his 'sound'. If you contrast the 4th mvmt of it to the Beethoven Violin Concerto 3rd mvmt, you'll notice the melody is very similar, even the amount of notes used. Just something I noticed.
I would personally listen to, in this order:
- Turangalîla Symphony (most famous orchestral work)
- Éclairs sur l’Au-Delà (1987)
- Des Canyons aux Ètoiles (1974....quite exotic, piano emphasis[all bird song]...)
It's difficult to say after that.
- Chronochromie, Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum, Méditations Sur Le Mystère De La Sainte Trinité still have some passages in them I find hard to digest such as 18 violin players all playing different bird song simultaneously....there is a rhythm, but it's quite subtle. There are still many other Messiaen works I've yet to pick up, this being one of them: http://www.iclassics.com/iclassics/album.jsp?selectionId=2355
Messiaen's piano music is probably my favourite. I can tell you about that on another topic.
If you are really into Debussy that would make understanding Messiaen's music a whole lot easier. Reading about it should tell you about the why some instruments are used. His music has the effect of 'stopping time', just putting you into awe.
So there's my stream-of-conscience post.
I saw the Takacs Qrt. perform #4 last year.
I whole-heartedly recommend the Hagen Quartet complete Bartok quartets! I've always been proud to own it. Emerson's miss the point of some passages or speed through them without giving any particular emphasis and the Juilliard I didn't like either (not as much energy).
I attended the Glenn Gould Prize 2002 ceremony/concert honouring Pierre Boulez this past Sunday - it was live on CBC Radio 2 - he conducted his works too: Eclat, Memoriale, Pli Selon Pli (I, II), Messagesquisse, Derive I, Anthemes II. Interesting to hear and especially see the man live, but there's no way I'd purchase any of it. After seeing it live, I realized why I disliked it even more. It's serial music and beyond. I couldn't even describe his language; it makes serial music sound free (ok bad example hehe
).I'm a huge Messiaen fan myself....
If you want to get a grasp of his music I'd suggest NOT listening to "Quartet for the End Time" as an introduction. It's probably his most famous work, but not his unique musical language (transcribing bird song for orchestral works and prominently piano). "Oiseaux Exotiques" is his first attempt at this new language and possibly his most popular to come out of it.
Concert a Quatre (1991-92) is another deceptive piece, though unfinished, it has been touched up upon by his wife and recorded (for cello, flute, piano and orchestra). It's a gorgeous piece. Very much his 'sound'. If you contrast the 4th mvmt of it to the Beethoven Violin Concerto 3rd mvmt, you'll notice the melody is very similar, even the amount of notes used. Just something I noticed.
I would personally listen to, in this order:
- Turangalîla Symphony (most famous orchestral work)
- Éclairs sur l’Au-Delà (1987)
- Des Canyons aux Ètoiles (1974....quite exotic, piano emphasis[all bird song]...)
It's difficult to say after that.
- Chronochromie, Et Exspecto Resurrectionem Mortuorum, Méditations Sur Le Mystère De La Sainte Trinité still have some passages in them I find hard to digest such as 18 violin players all playing different bird song simultaneously....there is a rhythm, but it's quite subtle. There are still many other Messiaen works I've yet to pick up, this being one of them: http://www.iclassics.com/iclassics/album.jsp?selectionId=2355
Messiaen's piano music is probably my favourite. I can tell you about that on another topic.
If you are really into Debussy that would make understanding Messiaen's music a whole lot easier. Reading about it should tell you about the why some instruments are used. His music has the effect of 'stopping time', just putting you into awe.
So there's my stream-of-conscience post.