Review: String Quartet No. 2, "For Louise and Aaron," by Elliot Schwartz "monumental"

Thu - March 28, 2024, 3:34 pm

 

Review: String Quartet No. 2, "For Louise and Aaron," by Elliot Schwartz "monumental"

performed by Muneko Otani, violin; Shaun Ho, violin; Sarasa Otake, viola; Antoni Josef Inacay, celloString Quartet No. 2 “For Louise and Aaron” performed by Muneko Otani, violin; Shaun Ho, violin; Sarasa Otake, viola; Antoni Josef Inacay, celloThe 2011 Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music -- held July 28-31 -- at Bowdoin College's Studzinski Hall -- presented works by Kati Agocs, Robert Beaser, Luciano Berio; Lisa Bielawa,
Richard Francis, Ryan Francis, Ramon Lazkano, Gyorgy Ligeti, David T. Little, Adam Schoenberg; Elliott Schwartz,
Toru Takemitsu,

Iannis Xenakis,
three composition participants -
Viet Cuong,
Noah Meites,
and Ashley Fu Tsun Wang -
and Molly Joyce, the winner of the 2011 Student Composition Competition.

Christopher Hyde, in the Portland Press Herald, wrote "...Elliot Schwartz, inspired by the work of contemporaries Aaron Copland
and Louise Nevelson. The result, like one of Nevelson's sculptures, is a
monumental edifice built of (musical) fragments assembled into blocks
of sound." Read the full review here:  Review in the Portland Press Herald 

Another review, calling the work, "alternately gorgeous and fiery" appeared in The Dispatch, here.

 

photo by DeeDee Schwartz