Concerto String Quartet Instruments Percussion
Jan 26, 2012 Wind Instruments
Posted by
Darius Holloway
Concerto String Quartet Instruments Percussion @ Amazon.com
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Imagine yourself playing as share of a chamber music ensemble…something enthusiasti and romantic, perchance one of Tchaikovsky’s violin concertos, or perchance a riveting and challenging piece like Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The Manhattan String Quartet has been around for over forty years, playing just those kinds of pieces, as one of the finest examples of chamber music we have today. Chamber music evolved over two centuries ago, popular amongst little groups of friends who wished to play together in their homes. Because the musicians were fixed normally to four, it was easy to be grateful for the contribution of each person player. Some of the earliest chamber music was from the Baroque period, from the late 1500s through the 1700s, when it was frequent for musicians to interweave melodic themes in a contrapuntal style. It became the very core of chamber music, even up to the twentieth century, when composer Dimitri Shostakovitch gathered contrasting musical styles to compose fifteen ensembles for string quartets. Today’s Manhattan String Quartet holds the honor of having played all of Shostakovitch’s string quartet compositions. But there was another reason why chamber music became so standard in it is own right. In the earlier centuries, composers were virtual laborers of the kings and queens. As aristocratic empires declined, more and more musicians made their living by playing for public audiences. Improvements in the bows employed for the violin, viola, and cello also contributed to chamber music’s rise. As bows became stronger, made with better technique and more inviolable wood, musicians were competent to play their music louder, more befitting a concert hall. Chamber music has never been intended for one musician to outshine another. And different from symphonic music, in which dozens of musicians blend their instruments’ voices to construct compelling sounds, chamber music allows each instrument to interchange it is voice with those of the other instruments. It allows a gracious appreciation of each fellow member of the group. Austrian composer Joseph Haydn was known as “Father of the String Quartet” because he composed over 80 quartets. Often his pieces begun with the instruments working together to assert a musical theme. The person musicians then would play back and forth to and with one another. Sometimes he contrasted themes, sonata-style, and then he would segue into a lyrical rhythm, followed by a light, jaunty division known as a scherzo, and then finishing with a refrain from the opening played grandly. The Manhattan String Quartet today excels at precisely this type of melodic tete-a-tete, including the music of two violins played by Eric Lewis and Calvin Wiersma, a viola played by John Dexter, and a cello played by Chris Finckel. Past members have included Eric’s brother, Roy Lewis, plus two sisters, Rosemary and Judith Glyde. The Manhattan String Quartet were the firstborn chamber musicians to play in the Soviet Union after the galore changes that glasnost brought to that country in the Eighties. And the MSQ are still popular musicians today! Most helpful customer reviews 49 of 68 people found the following review helpful. At least the “lesbian” series showcases lesser known women composers who would never have gotten past the hunky bouncer at a Virgil Thomson tea party in 1950. |
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