Departing Landscapes: Morton Feldman's String Quartet II and Triadic Memories

Reviewed by: Shostakovich: A Coded Life in Music by Brian Morton Cameron Pyke Shostakovich: A Coded Life in Music. By Brian Morton. London: Haus Publishing, 2021. [220 p. ISBN 978-1-913368-43-2. £9.99] The appearance of the first paperback edition of this 2006 volume is to be welcomed. Morton presents a clear overview of the composer's life while navigating and synthesising the key contours of the considerable scholarly literature. He draws upon a broad cultural understanding: there are perceptive references, for example, to Olivier Messiaen and Arnold Schoenberg as well as to Arshile Gorky and Boris Pasternak. While the author acknowledges that he is not a musicologist, a significant number of key works are discussed in terms of their music, as well as underlying meaning: this is particularly the case with the symphonies, which Morton identifies as 'the form in which his essence as a composer would be expressed' (p. 40), acknowledging that some works are 'capacious enough to sustain any number of contradictory interpretations' (p. 46). Morton's discussions of the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District and Symphony No. 8 are particularly sensitive. Reporting the composer's excitement at the film version of Lady Macbeth (released in 1966–1967 as Katerina Ismailova), Morton comments that it was 'as if his entire musical history were somehow embedded in that great work's narrative of cultural paucity, betrayal, defiance, violence, and imprisonment' (p. 202). In contrast, Symphony No. 8 is viewed as 'a meditation on the whole idea of symphonism … a return to the modernist experiment of the equally unloved Fourth Symphony' (p. 124). Both arguments could be extended: the sympathetically drawn Katerina re-emerges in the tragic figure of Loreley in Symphony No. 14, while the composer's wider tendency to subvert symphonic form, as in the 'problematic' Symphony No. 6 (p. 105) culminates in Symphony No. 15, in the final coda of which, as the late Alexander Ivashkin argued, symphonic syntax is itself eroded. Morton himself notes 'a steadily deepening absorption in sound itself' in some of the late period works (p. 189). Morton correctly identifies the key characteristics of the composer's genius: his ability to write music, often under considerable psychological pressure, which could operate on different levels; his sardonic exploitation, drawn from Gustav Mahler and Nikolai Gogol, of the full potential of juxtaposition; his profound sense of social and ethical duty; and his stature 'among the very greatest exponents – and perhaps the last greatest exponent – of what we still uneasily call classical music' (p. 24). In presenting 'a straightforward narrative of the composer's life and the evolution of his music' (p. 22) and emphasising 'a basic consistency of attitude' (p. 14), more could have been made of what Edison Denisov called the 'arch' between the early and late works: for example, the 'unexpected revival' (Denisov) of percussion in the coda of the Cello Concerto No. 2 and subsequently. Indeed, the discussion of the 'late period' works is more cursory than that of the earlier and middle-period scores. Moreover, while Morton earlier acknowledges the 'intermingling of major works in his mind with smaller-scale works' (p. 150), it is in these final works that the cross-referencing becomes a significant stylistic feature in itself, as if the composer increasingly sought to create a personal narrative on his entire creative output, towards much of which he seems to have felt a profound dissatisfaction. I would not, then, agree that the works of the last decade are 'less obviously encrypted' (p. 199), particularly when one considers the chamber music, and notwithstanding the composer's partial return to word setting. I would also have valued acknowledgement of the influence of Gavriil Nikolayevich Popov (on Symphony No. 4) and of Mieczysław Weinberg (on the later string quartets). [End Page 347] The book is written in an accessible style, though on occasion sensationalist phrasing sits uneasily with its erudition and seriousness of purpose, and some will also find references to Shostakovich's numerology more convincing than others. The lack of footnotes and an index likewise do not do justice to the range and clarity of the book's cultural reference. Shostakovich's visit...

IN THE LIVES OF great artists, the late or last works are often considered to be the greatest, the flowering or crowning of all that came before. This phenomenon, the valuing of “late” creations, artistic creations in particular, is perhaps nowhere more obvious than in connection with Beethoven. The late works, especially the late quartets, late piano sonatas, and the last symphony (the Ninth), are much discussed, much performed, and highly prized. In the case of Beethoven’s String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 (1826), this canonization is everywhere apparent. The work is not only firmly a part of the scholarly canon, the performing canon, and the pedagogical canon, but also makes its presence felt in popular culture, notably in film (for example, ...

Commissioned by the Kronos Quartet in 1988, Zorn’s string quartet Cat O’ Nine Tails originated as a “filecard composition”, but was eventually assembled as a conventionally notated score. Subtitled “Tex Avery directs the Marquis de Sade,” the fifteen-minute work combines a variety of musical quotes, stylistic allusions, improvisational episodes, and noise elements in a frenetic and dramatic musical collage. A continuous play of fragmented and disjunctive referentiality, Cat O Nine Tails exemplifies late twentieth century postmodernism. This paper provides an analysis of the musical structure of Cat O’ Nine Tails. By applying music theorist Jonathan D. Kramer’s hierarchy of linearity and nonlinearity as an analytical model, I attempt to address Zorn’s idiosyncratic approach to time and context, and discuss how the composer simultaneously disrupts and maintains structural integrity and compositional intent. Keywords: John Zorn; Cat O’ Nine Tails; Music for string quartet; Jonathan D. Kramer; Postmodernism in music; Moment form.

This interview with Elliott Carter, conducted on 30 May 2012, is among the last that he gave. Carter talks candidly about his past, the present, and what his legacy will be. While discussing his latest works – a series of short epigrams and a new setting of Wallace Stevens poems – Carter explains how each composition is a unique musical adventure; consequently, he does not repeat himself. Innovation is the essence of Carter's oeuvre, clearly manifested in his string quartets, which Carter still views as his grandest musical statements. He speaks openly about the difficulties of getting these and other works performed well, the lack of performances of his compositions on the West Coast, and the current trends and direction of composition today. Carter recalls important experiences and events in his life involving Nadia Boulanger, Ives, Cage, Boulez, and Stravinsky.

Nonesuch Records:Sui Generis Johanna Keller (bio) After supper, my husband and I usually repair to the living room to read and to listen to music. One evening, as we do frequently, we loaded in six CDs and punched the random play button. First the estimable pianist Richard Goode played a Bach partita, followed by soprano Dawn Upshaw singing a stylishly warm rendition of a Broadway standard. An imaginative ten-minute meditation by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny gave way to a version of a fourteenth-century canon by the ensemble Alarm Will Sound with added percussion that highlighted its complex cross-rhythms. Next, Stephin Merritt's gravelly bass voice sang one of his sad love ballads with the Magnetic Fields band, followed by the Kronos Quartet performing a pan-Arab hit tune arranged by the quartet and Argentinean composer Osvaldo Golijov. In its breadth of music, this was a fairly typical listening evening for us. Spanning roughly four centuries, and encompassing what used to be thought of as high and low culture, the music came from several continents and encompassed jazz, Broadway, world music, classical music, contemporary and early music. The transitions from one track to the next—chosen at random by the CD player—were surprising, often jarring. But the juxtapositions refreshed the ears and opened the mind to new connections. What was unusual was that all of the recordings were released on one label—Nonesuch. Nonesuch has been a bellwether since it was founded in 1964 as a budget classical label. Under the early leadership of iconoclastic producer Teresa Sterne, and in recent decades the supremely talented Robert Hurwitz, the label has been eclectic and genre-busting. Its quirky back story consists of a parade of now-legendary releases that became cultural game-changers. It was Nonesuch that introduced 1960s mass audiences to world music through its Explorer Series, and later sold a million copies [End Page 423] of music by Scott Joplin, setting off the craze for ragtime jazz. Nonesuch put out the early works of John Adams and Philip Glass, John Zorn and the Kronos Quartet, which became surprise hits—unheard of for serious contemporary music. It was Nonesuch that released Henryk Górecki's Third Symphony, selling more than three million copies. Who would have guessed that hits could also be made out of the Bulgarian State Television female choir? Or tangos by Astor Piazzolla? Nonesuch has a global reach, encompassing The Gipsy Kings, the Buena Vista Social Club, Brazilian pop star Caetano Veloso, Wilco, the Black Keys, Youssou N'Dour and Gidon Kremer, and Laurie Anderson—just to name a few. A handful of recent releases illustrates the vision—and the risk-taking—that has always characterized Nonesuch. The Kronos Quartet's recent album, Floodplain, has a geopolitical theme. The liner notes explain that the dozen tracks come from "lowlying places bordering rivers, and the places where human civilization was born and first flourished," that is to say places like Serbia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine—spots often more associated with roadside bombings than with music. This is not an ethnomusicological compendium of traditional music, nor is it a Western string quartet playing arrangements; instead, like the music of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project, what is offered here is a thoughtful blend of cultures—artistic appropriations that do not purport to be purely authentic in either the historical or ethnic sense. The album's catchy opening, "Ya Habibi Ta'ala" (My Love, Come Quickly), is an Egyptian song from 1940 turned into a slithery tango, arranged by Osvaldo Golijov and played by the quartet along with Jamie Papish on riqq (an Arabic tambourine). In "Getme, Getme" (Don't Leave, Don't Leave), the quartet collaborates with the father-and-daughter singing duo, Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova, and their ensemble from Azerbaijan; at times the quartet members play along with the traditional lines, and at other moments, they break into a kind of Western contemporary improvisation—it's a fascinating blend of contexts. In "Tèw Semagn Hagèré" (Listen to Me, My Fellow Countrymen), Jeffrey Zeigler plays an instrument inspired by the Ethiopian begena (a lyre with a buzzing...

This article explores the phenomenon of the Kronos Quartet, principally through their recordings, and discusses how, in adopting some features of popular music while retaining elements of their classical heritage, they have redefined conventional musical and cultural notions of the string quartet. This study also argues that Kronos has helped to establish a hybrid, cross-cultural style that might be called “world minimalism” — a style that combines musical traits shared among some world musics with analogous elements found in classical minimalism. The critical literature on the group is considered, especially the charge that the quartet exhibits “postmodern sterility”; although certain pieces in their repertoire might be described as “postmodern,” and while they have been described as a postmodern group in the mass media, the Kronos quartet is actually thoroughly modernist in its approach and presentation, drawing strongly on its classical heritage. The article concludes by arguing that the long-term effect of the Kronos Quartet's existence has been a substantial re-drawing of the boundaries that existed in recorded music, and that their belief in and promotion of contemporary music has been an extremely beneficial force in the music world.

Esta tesis estudia el impacto que tuvo en la música e ideario estético de Roberto Gerhard el intenso contacto del compositor con Arnold Schoenberg durante los años veinte. En la primera parte examino la relación de Gerhard con los principios compositivos y pedagógicos de Schoenberg, en particular durante su periodo de estudio en Viena y Berlín (1923 – 28). El magisterio de Schoenberg es contextualizado con respecto a la formación musical anterior del compositor. En la segunda parte estudio la transformación del lenguaje compositivo de Gerhard en el periodo 1921 - 1927. Comparo para ello el primer Apunt para piano (1921) –compuesto poco antes de su traslado a Viena– con tres piezas compuestas junto a Schoenberg que considero particularmente interesantes: el Divertimento para instrumentos de viento (1926), el Andantino para violín, clarinete y piano (ca. 1927) y el primer movimiento del cuarteto de cuerda compuesto en 1927 como proyecto fin de estudios, en claro homenaje al Cuarteto de cuerda nº 2, Op. 10 de Schoenberg. Ninguna de estas obras ha sido pormenorizadamente analizada hasta el momento. Mi trabajo detalla las técnicas compositivas empleadas en estas piezas y su relación con la obra e ideario de Schoenberg en los años veinte. En menor medida, se examinan otras afinidades significativas con la música de autores contemporáneos como Frederic Mompou, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók o Josef Matthias Hauer. Mi análisis se centra en explicar las distintas estrategias de integración motívica, el uso de la simetría y la “combinación transpositiva” como principales factores constructivos, la fuerte tendencia al empleo de la colección octatónica como set referencial, las primeras técnicas empleadas para la organización serial del material, las abundantes (y a menudo irónicas) alusiones a elementos musicales del pasado (principalmente de los siglos XVII y XVIII) y la clara adscripción de las obras compuestas entre 1926 y 1928 al formalismo neoclásico de los años veinte. Entender las particularidades y transformaciones de la técnica compositiva de Gerhard durante el periodo de formación con Schoenberg es fundamental para poder comprender en profundidad el desarrollo posterior de su lenguaje y abordar con éxito el estudio de su obra de madurez.

The place of nature in Godard's late films

One of the great advantages of Schenkerian theory for the analysis of sonata-form expositions is its focus on the comparatively few fundamental structural patterns that govern the vast majority of Classical sonata movements. By recognizing these pervasive patterns, the analyst is able to relate unique foreground and middleground features of an individual exposition to the relatively uniform background procedures. One thus gains insight both into the features that make a given exposition original and into those that tie it to the sonata-form genre. In this paper I shall study expositions from the first movements of three late Haydn works: the Symphony No. 96 (1791), the String Quartet op. 74/3 (1793), and the String Quartet op. 76/2 (1797). My aim is to demonstrate how the voice-leading of the foreground and middleground is related to structural patterns operating in the background, and how the different structural levels interact with the movements' formal organization.

One of the great advantages of Schenkerian theory for the analysis of sonata-form expositions is its focus on the comparatively few fundamental structural patterns that govern the vast majority of Classical sonata movements. By recognizing these pervasive patterns, the analyst is able to relate unique foreground and middleground features of an individual exposition to the relatively uniform background procedures. One thus gains insight both into the features that make a given exposition original and into those that tie it to the sonata-form genre. In this paper I shall study expositions from the first movements of three late Haydn works: the Symphony No. 96 (1791), the String Quartet op. 74/3 (1793), and the String Quartet op. 76/2 (1797). My aim is to demonstrate how the voice-leading of the foreground and middleground is related to structural patterns operating in the background, and how the different structural levels interact with the movements' formal organization.

Few theorists would deny the importance of rotational arrays in the late works of Igor Stravinsky. Probably even fewer would deny that careful study of the work of a great twentieth century composer will reveal not only the extent of his or her compositional craft, but will also indicate that craft's potential for continued use and extension by other contemporary composers. Certainly Stravinsky's adoption of the serial and twelve-tone procedures of Anton von Webern and others makes this point admirably. Since there are a number of studies' that do some justice to the late works, it is curious that, aside from articles by John Rogers and observations by Milton Babbitt,2 little seems to be written about the general nature, types and properties of rotational arrays. One reason for this neglect might be traced to the claim that rotational arrays so intimately coordinate aspects of Stravinsky's compositional style that it is very difficult to export them out of Stravinsky's musical universe without losing their context and utility. For example, the hexachords of twelve-tone rows related by transposition and rotation that form the horizontal voices of Stravinsky's arrays obviously generalize the frequent canonic textures in Stravinsky's work, especially in those compositions immediately preceding and overlapping with his last period.3 Arrays such as the one in example 0.1 provided Stravinsky with a new,

REVIEWS OF RECORDS Get access BERG: String Quartet, Op. 3. CASELLA: Five Pieces for String Quartet. New Music String Quartet. 12″ LP. Bartók Records 906. SCHOENBERG: The Complete String Quartets, Nos. 1–4, Op. 7, 10, 30, & 37. WEBERN: Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5. BERG: String Quartet, Op. 3. Juilliard String Quartet; Uta Graf, soprano, assisting in Schoenberg Quartet No. 2. 3 12″ LPs in Album or separately. Columbia SL–188 or ML 4735/37. RICHARD S. HILL RICHARD S. HILL Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Musical Quarterly, Volume XL, Issue 3, July 1954, Pages 435-b–444, https://doi.org/10.1093/mq/XL.3.435-b Published: 01 July 1954

The essay is devoted to characterizing a trend opposed to the onslaught of contradictions, disharmony and various destructive influences brought along by the new century in the Russian musical art of the early 20th century. This trend was embodied in the composers’ turn to the humanistic traditions of the past, as well as in the constructive and positive aspirations of modernity. The desire to defend the principles of humanism was mainly associated with the spiritual values of the Classical era. In particular, the author provides insight into the formation of neoclassicism in Russian musical art starting with the late works by P. Tchaikovsky (the orchestral suite “Mozartiana” (1887)). Special attention is paid to the works by S. Taneyev (the cantata “At the Reading of a Psalm” (1912-1915)), N. Myaskovsky (String Quartet No. 4 (1909-1910)), S. Prokofiev (Symphony No. 1 (1917)), Z. Paliashvili (the operas “Abesalom da Eteri” (1910-1919) and “Daisi” (1919-1923)). As a result, it is concluded that the sphere of humanism and harmony, despite being hardly a central trend in the context of the musical and artistic process of the 1910s, was, however, undoubtedly significant, clearly reflecting the reaction to the deforming trends of modernity. The fundamental shift in worldview that occurred in the 1910s – the first half of the 1920s was expressed in the weakening of the considered trend, the growth of contradictions.

A new reading of the finale of Beethoven's String Quartet in C# Minor, op. 131, taking as point of departure the theme in "doublet" form introduced in mm. 22-29. This theme recalls (or retrieves) the fugue subject of the first movement in peculiar ways, analyzed here in perhaps painstaking detail. Over the course of the movement the peculiarities dissipate; the theme recurs in different forms until, in a beautiful passage near the end, it seems less uncanny than reconciliatory, an authentic return at the end of the quartet to the ethos of the great fugue that began it. Meanwhile as the doublet theme develops and grows more expressive, the finale's "heroic" first theme decays. Yet the finale is the only movement in op. 131 to follow sonata-like procedures, strikingly evocative of the "Burnham canon" of middle-period works. Sonata-form narrative is undercut here by a counter-narrative tracing the transformations of the doublet theme, suggesting an overall cyclic rather than teleological dynamic. For Adorno, critique of the heroic ideal was at the heart of Beethoven's late style. Although Adorno did not think so, critique is more explicit in the finale of op. 131 than in many other late works, it is suggested, and more vivid, because the heroic accents of the symphonic style are evoked so deliberately within the movement itself.

It would seem that the string quartet as a genre is not central to Nielsen’s oeuvre, at least if we consider the F major Quartet op. 44 as his only mature work for the medium. But this picture changes as soon as we count not merely his early apprentice works but also the three further quartets to which Nielsen himself assigned opus numbers and which he had published. After the early quartet studies, in which his familiarity with the classical repertoire may be seen, the following quartets – op. 13, op. 5 and op. 14 – show a progressive emancipation from tradition, which is particularly evident in their harmonic relationships. As the texture becomes far more complex, so the harmonic language achieves an increasing differentiation, going as far as bitonal passages in the E flat Quartet op. 14 (1897-98). The F major Quartet op. 44, composed in 1906, appears as a logical consequence, in that it unites the transparency of the early studies with the fluctuating tonality that thereafter becomes the basis for Nielsen’s output. From this perspective the string quartets acquire a central position, since they reflect his development more clearly than other genres. Moreover, they occupy a unique position when viewed not just against the background of Nielsen’s late works but in the context of the general history of the genre before 1900.