20th century string quartets, pt. II

Started by North Star, April 06, 2014, 12:13:08 PM

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North Star

So, which are your favourite 20th string quartets (works for that ensemble, preferably with no additional rotorcrafts 0:)) from composers who composed less than four of them?
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

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EigenUser

Quote from: North Star on April 06, 2014, 12:13:08 PM
So, which are your favourite 20th string quartets (works for that ensemble, preferably with no additional rotorcrafts 0:)) from composers who composed less than four of them?
:laugh:

Ravel, Debussy, Ligeti (the 1st one I love, 2nd one not so much  :-\ ), and Ives.
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

North Star

Quote from: EigenUser on April 06, 2014, 12:45:41 PM
:laugh:

Ravel, Debussy, Ligeti (the 1st one I love, 2nd one not so much  :-\ ), and Ives.
Have you heard Janáček's two?
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

EigenUser

Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

North Star

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

EigenUser

Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

Daverz

#6
Rotorcrafts?

Not 20th Century, but close enough

[asin]B0048077ZE[/asin]

Very accessible music.

Benjamin Lees composed in both centuries:

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EigenUser

Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

Archaic Torso of Apollo

Janacek, Lutoslawski, Elgar, Berg, Sibelius
formerly VELIMIR (before that, Spitvalve)

"Who knows not strict counterpoint, lives and dies an ignoramus" - CPE Bach

EigenUser

Quote from: North Star on April 06, 2014, 12:53:33 PM
Yes. Yes, I do.  8)

https://www.youtube.com/v/WsvIUAHFsF4  https://www.youtube.com/v/iUjrLtLXG60
On the 1st one now. I love the harmonies in it because they remind me of the Ravel quartet a lot. However, the piece seems to be very fragmented and I'm having trouble putting the whole thing together. He jumps around a lot.
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

Mirror Image

Quote from: EigenUser on April 06, 2014, 02:12:24 PMHowever, the piece seems to be very fragmented and I'm having trouble putting the whole thing together. He jumps around a lot.

Ah, one of the key characteristics of Janacek and one of the reasons why I love his music, although I have no trouble putting anything together.

DavidW

Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Berg, Janacek, Webern.

amw

Janáček (1 > 2), Gerhard (2 > 1), Roslavets, Enescu, Ligeti, Holliger (I only know the 1st one, but it's a knockout). Lutosławski and Berg (Lyric Suite) were quite important to me as a young listener though I rarely spin them anymore.

petrarch

Nono, Ligeti, Webern, Lachenmann, Scelsi (oh wait, off by one), Rihm (darn! off by 8--and counting...).
//p
The music collection.
The hi-fi system: Esoteric X-03SE -> Pathos Logos -> Analysis Audio Amphitryon.
A view of the whole

PaulSC

Dutilleux!

Finnissy -- three titled string quartets and several other pieces for the same instrumentation, my top recommendation being #s 2 and 3 here:

[asin]B0071AJ9PO[/asin]
Musik ist ein unerschöpfliches Meer. — Joseph Riepel

North Star

I must hear the Finnissy quartets soon.

Webern wrote three with opus numbers, and a few others, e.g. Langsamer Satz, so he should actually be in the other thread.

Quote from: EigenUser on April 06, 2014, 02:12:24 PM
On the 1st one now. I love the harmonies in it because they remind me of the Ravel quartet a lot. However, the piece seems to be very fragmented and I'm having trouble putting the whole thing together. He jumps around a lot.

Did you listen to No. 2 already?
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

EigenUser

Quote from: North Star on April 07, 2014, 12:29:32 PM
I must hear the Finnissy quartets soon.

Webern wrote three with opus numbers, and a few others, e.g. Langsamer Satz, so he should actually be in the other thread.

Did you listen to No. 2 already?
Yes :( .

I liked No. 1 better, but that doesn't say much. Not that I thought they were bad, but they weren't for me right now. And that doesn't say much (about me) because I usually like large ensemble/orchestral music. In fact, the quartets that I listed (along with Bartok No. 3) are pretty much the only ones that I listen to regularly. Quartets are great fun to play in, but I don't like listening to them so much.

What orchestral works of Janacek are your favorite? What should I hear next?
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".

North Star

Quote from: EigenUser on April 07, 2014, 12:35:14 PM
Yes :( .

I liked No. 1 better, but that doesn't say much. Not that I thought they were bad, but they weren't for me right now. And that doesn't say much (about me) because I usually like large ensemble/orchestral music. In fact, the quartets that I listed (along with Bartok No. 3) are pretty much the only ones that I listen to regularly. Quartets are great fun to play in, but I don't like listening to them so much.

What orchestral works of Janacek are your favorite? What should I hear next?
Let's take this to the Janáček thread, aka Leoš' Lair.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

vandermolen

Both by Vaughan Williams, especially No. 2 with its links to his turbulent and enigmatic Sixth Symphony.
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" (Churchill).

'The test of a work of art is, in the end, our affection for it, not our ability to explain why it is good' (Stanley Kubrick).

EigenUser

No one mentioned Kagel. The first two are, frankly, horrible. I understand that they are "performance art", but why bother recording them then? However, I enjoyed his third SQ. It isn't amazing, but the first thing I thought of when I heard it was "see what happens when you sit down and try to write a good piece of music, instead of just trying to be different?" The guy had talent and a clear (almost Debussian!) feeling for harmony. Unfortunately, it only seems to show up in two out of four SQs.

The one I liked the most was his short "Pan" for piccolo and string quartet (about 5 minutes). That piece is great. I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't care much for modern classical music.

"Pan" starts at 10:45 for anyone interested. I actually wish it was a little bit longer!
http://www.youtube.com/v/N-DIal25XpM
Beethoven's Op. 133 -- A fugue so bad that even Beethoven himself called it "Grosse".