Piatti Quartet; Quatuor Bozzini; Heath Quartet
Release Date: 07 April 2023
Label: NMC Recordings
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 5023363024204
Genres: Classical
Description
In 2017, when NMC and Wigmore Hall chose Bracing Change as the title for their new series of string commissions, they had no idea of the change lying ahead for the planet. Now in a world only beginning to process the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, amongst so much other turbulence, we present the second instalment in the series, introducing three new works to the string quartet repertoire. The composers Mark-Anthony Turnage, Paul Newland, and Helen Grime, all contribute to the rich history of the medium in hugely varying musical voices, as they collaborate with three of the most distinguished, internationally-renowned string quartet ensembles today.
John Gilhooly CBE, Wigmore Hall Director, says, "This ground-breaking partnership between Wigmore Hall, The Radcliffe Trust and NMC Recordings continues with Mark-Anthony Turnage's Contusion. The Piatti Quartet deservedly received a prize for their magnificent interpretation of the piece, when it was the compulsory work for the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition. This recording of the revised version - which was premiered by the Piatti Quartet - dates from a few years later, following further deep engagement with the work. It is described by The Guardian as a 'concise, poignantly balanced one movement cry of pain'. The exceptional Montreal-based Quatuor Bozzini brings us Paul Newland's difference is everywhere (altered), in which subtly shifting chordal textures build gradually to create a uniquely haunting sense of beauty. The album closes with Helen Grime's String Quartet No. 2. Helen was Wigmore Hall's first female Composer in Residence and her new quartet was created against the particularly intense backdrop of pandemic lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. It is premiered here by the Heath Quartet.
The pace changes with Paul Newland's sparse and evocative work dominated by cluster chords. Quatuor Bozzini […] present exemplary ensemble throughout this quietly powerful piece." – BBC Music Magazine
"the quartet [String Quartet No. 2 – Helen Grime] is categorically no mere "lockdown project", having indeed already been in gestation before COVID-19 hit Europe; the music has a grace, lyricism and ultimate optimism about it that few people in mid-2020 would have felt." – Presto Music
"The Heath Quartet bring out the music's sharp juxtapositions in a consummate performance that combines visceral thrust and power alongside moments of delicate beauty." – Gramophone
GRAMOPHONE EDITORS CHOICE: JUNE 2023
"The NMC label offers us another superb insight into contemporary quartet-writing – three composers, three ensembles, and three compelling performances." – Gramophone Recordings of the Year / Editor's Choice November 2023
Tracklisting
Martyn Brabbins, Daniel Pioro, Anna Dennis, Andrew Gourlay, Elena Schwarz
Freya Waley-Cohen, Manchester Collective, Heloise Werner, Katie Bray, Fleur Barron, Tamsin Waley-Co
Slide Action
Siwan Rhys
BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers, Alice Farnham
Lisa Illean, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, GBSR Duo, Juliet Fraser, Explore Ensemble
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Martyn Brabbins, Andrew Davis
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, London Sinfonietta, Ryan Wigglesworth, Huw Wa
Isabel Schicketanz
The Counterpoints
Narratio Quartet
Danbi Um; Juho Pohjonen
Lea Suter
Andrzej Szadejko, Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett, Cracow Singers
Aart Bergwerff
C-Sisters
