John Zorn & Pierre Boulez ~ String Quartets ~ Jack Quartet ~ Cernier; 24th August 2015

I wasn't familiar with John Zorn's string quartets before listening to this recording, but on the strength of this, I'll be looking for more. The Remedy of Fortune is the strongest piece, and contains multiple quotes from other quartets I know and play, including the Beethoven's Grosse Fuge.

This concert also includes performances of both the early and late versions of Boulez's Livre pour Quatuor; beautiful serial works that condense an entire narrative into small gestures.

John Zorn: The Alchemist
Pierre Boulez: Livre pour quatuor (1948/49)
Pierre Boulez: Livre pour quatuor (2011/12)
John Zorn: The Remedy of Fortune

Jack Quartet
Christopher Otto, violin
Ari Streisfeld, violin
John Pickford Richards, viola
Kevin McFarland, cello

Cernier, Switzerland; 24th August 2015

The master without a baton: Pierre Boulez 1925 - 2016

Sadly, Pierre Boulez died earlier this week. Here is a performance of 'Le marteau sans maître', one of the seminal works from the white heat of European music in the 1950s;

Pierre Boulez: "Le marteau sans maitre" for alto voice, alto flute, guitar, viola, vibraphone, xylorimba and  percussion

Donatienne Michel-Dansac (alto voice)

Members of the SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg

Conducted by François-Xavier Roth 

Baden-Baden; 18th January, 2015

Des yeux purs dans les bois

Cherchent en pleurant la tête habitable