Search - Bruno Maderna, Arditti String Quartet :: Bruno Maderna: For Strings

An excellent deal given its budget price!

Gaetano | 06/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bruno Maderna had a special affinity for the violin; he was after all, heralded as a child prodigy for the instrument. The present disc features the redoubtable Arditti Quartet in their familiar territory of post-war music in a budget release. Avant-garde music can all too often be perceived as thorny, tuneless and overtly clinical. Maderna, as the liner notes and the Grove Dictionary testify, had an obsession for the constant presence of a melodic, singing line. The first track is the tripartite, quartetto per archi of 1946 that serves as the perfectly accessible apertif for the program that follows. With his most familiar instrument, he does wonders to the traditional string quartet medium (and its various adjuncts). He is a master of dynamics, breaking silence with violent pizzicatos, layering ghostly quiet sustained notes against the rhapsodic outbursts of the other members. Darmstadt music (and beyond) that's sexy and exciting!



Given the low price, it's an excellent investment. Maderna plays second fiddle in name recognition to the acknowledged masters such as Xenakis, Boulez, and Ligeti. He deserves a better listen, at least more than he is given at the present.



P.S.



Disques Montaigne, please re-release Arditti String Quartet plays Julio Estrada!"

Really good stuff

Personne | Rocky Mountain West | 08/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Even those of us who are longtime lovers of new music will have a number of places we haven't explored. I've known Bruno Maderna's name for a long time, but I didn't know his music at all. Those who knew him spoke volumes about both his music and his personality. He died in his early fifties, without reaching that level of recognition achieved by his contemporaries--names like Berio, Dutilleux, Boulez, Lutoslawski. I purchased this CD just in case there was something I'd missed. I had.



This is a musician's composer. The music is passionate, lyrical, and still sounds new--more than three decades after it was written. Maderna was a violinist with prodigious technique. This string music is written with full knowledge of what strings can and should do. The CD has what I'd describe as two and a half string quartets, along with assorted other pieces. The earlier quartet is clearly Bartokian, but with more than enough ideas to establish the originality of its author. A second quartet titled "Quartetto per archi in due tempi" is another thing entirely. It inhabits a new sound world. "Cadendza" establishes itself as a brilliant piece for solo violin--until the remainder of the quartet join in for the last minute or two. It's an odd idea, but it works.



The rest of the CD consists of solos and duets. They all share a revealing intimacy. Much is required of the players, both in terms of raw technique and understanding. The Arditti Quartet, as individuals and as an ensemble, rise to this. This collection has been coming out of my speakers steadily since I received the CD. It will be getting company."