Morton Feldman: String Quartet No. 2 [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
In the 1970s Feldman took up the study and collecting of antique Turkish rugs, a highly evolved and exquisite folk art. The rugs are intricately patterned, symmetrical in basic design but with constant variation and displacement in the detailed execution of that design; strikingly and subtly colored, including fine variegations of principal colors resulting from the dyeing process. Analogies are clear to Feldman's music as it takes up large-scale patterning, partly working with his familiar subtle gradations of rhythm and instrumental color and ostinati, loops or extended repetitions of a sounds, partly - and especially in this second string quartet - continually finding new and surprising qualities of color. There are a number of sounds in this piece unlike anything one has heard from a string quartet. Lasting more than six continuous hours, it is "a disorienting, transfixing experience that repeatedly approached and touched the sublime." - Alex Ross, in his review of the FLUX Quartet's New York City performance in The New Yorker. String Quartet 2's score is 124 pages, at one tempo marking of 63-66 beats per minute - as such, a slow tempo. Feldman idiosyncratically sets the bars, so one page may last as little as about half a minute or as much as nearly seven minutes. "A very exciting quartet composed of four young men...who have lots of ideas and clearly enjoy making music together," - Anthony Tommasini, NY Times, the FLUX Quartet has performed to rave reviews at many music centers around the world. FLUX have performed Quartet 2 in concert numerous times and know the score intimately. The FLUX Quartet's repertoire consists of notable pioneers as well as visionaries of tomorrow - from "classics" by Nancarrow, Ligeti, and Cage, to works by John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Oliver Lake, and tenor balloonist Judy Dunaway. This deluxe set features liner notes by Feldman's colleague Christian Wolff, mixing personal experiences and recollections with analysis; and by FLUX founder Tom Chiu who writes of the "experience" of performing such a large-scale work.

Morton Feldman: String Quartet No. 2, Music, Morton Feldman, Flux Quartet, Box Sets (Audio Only), Chamber, Chamber Music & Recitals, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Quartet for Four String Instruments

American String Quartets, 1950-1970
Average customer rating:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below)

Many Undiscovered Treasures

compendium of the richness of American innovation

An interesting sampling of a musical dead end.

Fantastic Collection

American String Quartets, 1950-1970

Manufacturer: Vox (Classical)
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
Cage, John | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by George Crumb | Crumb, George | ( C ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Feldman | Feldman, Morton | ( F ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Electronic | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music | Computer
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto; Concerto for Orchestra; Concerto for Orchestra; Three Occasions

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String Quartet: 144
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Summer

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Black Angels (Images) For Electric String Quartet: Departure: Tutti, Threnody I - Night Of The Electric Insects; Trio, Sounds Of Bones And Flutes; Duo, Lost Bells; Solo, Cadenza accompagnata Devi-Music; Duo, Dance Macabre (Due Alternative: Dies Irae)
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Customer Reviews:

Now I know why they make jokes about Hoboken (see below).......2005-10-27

Man, it's discouraging to see people piddling all over music like this. 1950-65 was a great era for American culture; sure the European influence was lingering but American composers (and artists and filmmakers) were finding a voice, an expression of some quality uniquely American that had never appeared before. American music could be something other than Hoe-Downs, Charlestons, and Nearer my God to Thee (sorry, Charles, and you know I love you anyway). This was a taut and crisp intellectual America that was finally gaining ascendancy, something new to the world, brilliant and beautiful. I think of a wonderful photo of Elliott Carter with Stravinsky in New York at some gallery or concert hall circa 1960 or so. Stravinsky looks old and seedy, like a Russian refugee even though he had years to ditch that; Carter, alert and in a sharp suit, looks like the future-on-the-half-shell. It all got blown out of the water by 60s and 70s-era lack of standards and discrimination and an unwillingness to TRY. Sixties-era, anti-culture crapola that still reigns supreme. To much pot. Hippies ruined everything.

What's startling about the bad review is these quartets are hardly over-intellectualized. In fact most are quite beautiful or evocative; the Cage stunningly so. The LPs this collection came off were among my favorites of that era and I doubt a better or more nightmarish Black Angels has ever been done despite recent attempts by Kronos and others. Amazing playing by committed performers. A deal and a bargain.

For ten bucks this is like gold for free. Have at it!

Many Undiscovered Treasures.......2003-01-08

It's almost laughable not to pick up this disc. The price alone makes the set worth it. Added to that the fact that many of these works are not available in other forms and this disc is a no-brainer for fans of the late 20th century string quartet. The sampling transcends styles, from the almost improvisatory sonic canvas of Earle Brown, to the surprisingly beautiful almost minimal quartet of Cage, the horrific depiction of war in Crumb's justly famous Black Angels, or the almost traditional sounding Schonbergisms of Stepan Wolpe, this is an eclectic collection and well worth the modest investment.

I won't review everything on the album, as there is just too much. Highlights for me include the Earle Brown quartet, which is one of Brown's strongest early works. Since Brown is poorly represented on CD, every release of his is worth having, but the Second Quartet is a masterwork of tonal subtlety. Cage's Quartet was written just before he moved into his more aleatoric phase. It is highly modal and almost a precusor to minimlism, a very pleasing work that should be more widely known. Christian Wolff is also a composer who is underrepresented on CD (though Mode is quickly redressing the imbalance.) Summer is also a protominimalist work, based on stark 5ths. The reading of Black Angels is good, though not anything to supplant the Kronos reading, which is still my favorite. Also interesting are Quartets by Wolpe and Leon Kirchner.

So if you have any interest in American string work of the late 20th century, you need this disc. It is indispensible and very beautifully played. And the Vox Box price is unbeatable.

compendium of the richness of American innovation.......2000-04-05

This is a great showcase of the American string quartet,innovation,vision,iconoclasm,all elements which we often overlook and forget easily.But only Elliot Carter is missing, and that's because he has what! Five Quartets now.Inclusion of the First Carter would have rounded things out. The Earle Brown here is a neglected masterwork. Based on graphic notation the performers don't improvise so much as are given entrance freedoms within a prescribed range. The affect can be mysterious,haunting,also innovative with a wide pallette of extended techniques, at the bridge, sul ponticello,plucking. We often forget the traditional beauty Cage engaged the early part of his career, the Forties. This Quartet is a fine consummate example of that,with soft,gentle lines, very sparce, and transparent,also he limits himself to a few tones,tossed around the various voices. Structures by Feldman is an early work here, the Quartet is treated as one monolith sound,indistinguishable voices playing harmonics,cello playing where the violin plays, same range. All of Feldman's floating gentleness is here as well,perhaps too much at times,like it overspends its welcome. Crumb's Black Angels is another classic, The Kronos has takened this around the block many times, Crumb always works well with a programmatic agenda in place, and here he transforms the Quartets introspective consititution to more a drammatic focus. Druckman as well also works well with a program but here there is none. He has a fine imagination for sonoric structures,balance,but its doesn't seem to amount to much. The Wolpe is one of his best works. His creativity was uneven, here the violence and charged motives he is found of are in place to jump, and reiterate, toss around in an environment of high energy. Wolff's Summer is an early work prior to his metamorphosis into utilization of political imagery by comparison, this is a beautiful work,but cold, Wolff also needs a program,which he profoundly found, He has alater Quartet he wrote in the Eighties that is more compelling.

An interesting sampling of a musical dead end........1999-06-18

Superb analog transfers and excellent playing, I suppose. (I mean, how can you tell with music like this?) OK, I'm not a fan of this kind of music, but at this price I thought the collection was worth chancing. So far, I've found that the best way to listen to this recording is to let the music wash over you while you enjoy the sheer variety of sounds that the composers and players create. And there are some pleasant surprises, particularly the Cage quartet (from 1950) which contains genuine emotion and ends with a brief movement chock full of--gasp!--sprightly tunes. Makes me wonder what might have been had these composers shown more interest in music and less interest in mathematical gymnastics designed to impress their colleagues at the academy. At any rate, I recommend this album as an interesting sonic experience and a good sampling of the dead-end serialist/avant-garde genre that is now being supplanted by a return to music that recognizes tonality. (If you really want great 20th century quartets, incidentally, buy the 6 by Bartok).

Fantastic Collection.......1999-03-24

This set is a must if you have the slightest interest in avant-garde music from the 50s and 60s. Not a single weak piece, excellent sound and performances, and the price can't be beat!

Average customer rating:

A worthwhile investment
Excelent compilation!
Amazingly Now Retrospective
How Could You Not Listen?
Good for help to know up-to-date contemporaly music

25 Years: Retrospective
Suzanne Elder , Paul Hillier , David Krakauer , John Adams , Franguiz Ali-Zadeh , Ken Benshoof , George Crumb , Morton Feldman , Philip Glass , Osvaldo Golijov , Henryk Gorecki , Sofiya Gubaydulina , Arvo Part , P. Q. Phan , Astor Piazzolla , Steve Reich , Terry Riley , Alfred Schnittke , Peter Sculthorpe , Kevin Volans , Aki Takahashi , Ellen L. Hargis , Neal Rogers , and Kronos Quartet
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quartets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000DD9B
Release Date: 1998-10-27

Tracks:

John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Judah to Ocean
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Toot Nipple
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Dogjam
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Pavane: She's So Fine
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Rag the Bone
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Habanera
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Stubble Crochet
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Hammer & Chisel
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Alligator Escalator
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Standchen: The Little Serenade
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Judah to Ocean (Reprise)
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Fratres
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Psalom
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Summa
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Missa Syllabica: Kyrie
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Gloria
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Credo
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Sanctus
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Agnus Dei
John's Book of Alleged Dances (1994): Ite, missa est

Tracks:

Traveling Music: 1. Gentle, easy
Traveling Music: 2. Moderate
Traveling Music: 3. Driving
Song of Twenty Shadows
Five Tango Sensations: Asleep
Five Tango Sensations: Loving
Five Tango Sensations: Anxiety
Five Tango Sensations: Despertar
Five Tango Sensations: Fear
Five Tango Sensations: Four, for Tango

Tracks:

Piano And String Quartet (1985) - Various Artists

Tracks:

Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): I
Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): II
Quartet # 4 (Buczak, 1989): III
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 1957 - Award Montage
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): November 25 - Ichigaya
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 1934 - Grandmother and Kimitake
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): 192 - Body Building
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): Blood Oath
Mishima Quartet, Quartet #3 (1985): Mishima/Closing
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): I
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): II
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): III
Company, Quartet #2 (1983): IV
Quartet #5 (1991): I
Quartet #5 (1991): II
Quartet #5 (1991): III
Quartet #5 (1991): IV
Quartet #5 (1991): V

Tracks:

The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Prelude: Calmo, sospeso
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: I. Agitato - Con fucco - Maestoso - Senza misura, oscilante
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: II. Teneramente - Ruvido - Presto
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: III. Calmo, sospeso - Allego pesante
The Dreams & Prayers of Isaac the Blind: Postlude: Lento, liberamente
Quartet #4 (1993)
Mugam Sayagi (1993)

Tracks:

Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): I. Largo (Sostenuto - Mesto)
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): II. DecisoEnergico (Marcatissimo sempre)
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): III. Arioso: Adagio cantabile
Quasi una fantasia (Quartet #2), Op.64 (1990-91): IV. Allegro (Sempre con grande passione e molto marcato)
Already It is Dusk (Quartet #1), Op.62 (1988)

Tracks:

Different Trains: America Before The War
Different Trains: Europe During The War
Different Trains: America After The War
Black Angels: I. Departure - 1. Thenody I: Night Of The Electric Insects - 2. Sounds Of Bones And Flutes - 3. Lost Bells - 4. Devil-Music - 5. Danse Macabre
Black Angels: II. Absence - 6. Pavana Lachrymae - 7. Threnody II: Black Angels! - 8. Sarabanda de la Muerte Oscura - 9. Losts Bells (Echo)
Black Angels: III. Return - 10. God Music - 11. Ancient Voices - 12. Ancient Voices (Echo) - 13. Thenody III: Night Of The Electric Insects

Tracks:

Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Introduction
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Violin I
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Where Was Wisdom When We Went West?
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Viola
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): March of the Old Timers Reefer Division
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Violin II
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Tuning to Rolling Thunder
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): The Night Cry of Black Buffalo Woman
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Cadenza: Cello
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Gathering of the Spiral Clan
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): Captain Jack Has the Last Word
Cadenza on the Night Plain (1984): G Song
Salome Dances for Peace (1985-86) - III. The Gift: Echoes of Primordial Tim
Salome Dances for Peace (1985-86) - III. The Gift: Mongolian Winds
V. Good Medicine: Good Medicine Dance

Tracks:

Quartet No. 2 (1981): I. Moderato
Quartet No. 2 (1981): II. Agitato
Quartet No. 2 (1981): III. Mesto
Quartet No. 2 (1981): IV. Moderato
Quartet No. 4 (1989): I. Lento
Quartet No. 4 (1989): II. Allegro
Quartet No. 4 (1989): III. Lento
Quartet No. 4 (1989): IV. Vivace
Quartet No. 4 (1989): V. Lento
Collected Songs Where Every Verse Is Filled With Grief (1984-85)

Tracks:

Jabiru Dreaming, Quartet #11 (1990): I. Deciso
Jabiru Dreaming, Quartet #11 (1990): II. Amoroso
Quartet #8 (1969): I. Con dolore
Quartet #8 (1969): II. Risoluto; calmo
Quartet #8 (1969): III. Con dolore
Quartet #8 (1969): IV. Con precisione
Quartet #8 (1969): V. Con dolore
From Ubirr (1994)
Tragedy at the Opera (1995)
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: First Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Second Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Third Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Fourth Dance
White Man Sleeps Quartet #1: Fifth Dance

Amazon.com

Seems like only yesterday the Kronos Quartet stepped up their career as musical mavericks with a coveted, wide-open contract with Nonesuch Records. Now it's Nonesuch's turn to give Kronos the big-package nod, gathering key works recorded by the group--from younger composers and time-tested veterans alike--into this 10-CD box set. As one might expect, the set is stuffed with contrasts, from the first CD, with its 11-part, upstepping John Adams suite and then the far more solemn Missa Syllabica from Arvo Pärt. Nearly 20 of these pieces here were composed expressly for Kronos, pitched and sculpted for their easily-racked mixture of straightforward string quartet roles and intelligently restructured approaches to the even the simplest gestures. Perhaps most key here is George Crumb's Black Angels, in large part due to Crumb's role in inspiring David Harrington to form Kronos 25 years ago. Crumb's music spirals and chases through the air, engaging high pitches and fast pacings as if they were ends in themselves. Gone from this set are most of the short snippets that have filled some of Kronos's other fine single CD recordings. In abundance instead are some of the legendary works: Morton Feldman's long, endlessly patient Piano and String Quartet (with Aki Takahashi), Steve Reich's unnerving Different Trains, and Henryk Górecki's String Quartets Nos. 1 and 2. There are also some of the astounding Eastern European works from Night Prayers as well, including the stunning Quartet No. 4 from Sofia Gubaidulina. And of course there are the Kronos biggie pieces: Philip Glass's works fill one CD, and so do Terry Riley's. What's more, Riley's Cadenza on the Night Plain and "G Song" are presented here in entirely fresh, new recordings. What the listener gets is a huge block of music, full of shifting colors and textures but perfectly apt in giving a wide-angle vantage on what Kronos has done for contemporary music. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

A worthwhile investment.......2003-10-06

It would be an understatement to say that this is a fabulous box set. All 10 CDs are packed with some fabulous music that beautifull highlights the first 25 years of the Kronos Quartet, and the booklet included provides a great history of the group as well as nice blurbs on the composers and their pieces.

Equally nice about the box set is the inclusion of multiple new recordings, thus making this a worthwhile investment for fans. The Peter Sculthorpe Quartets are a particularly nice addition, as are the added Piazzolla, Part, and Riley compositions.

Along with this, the "classic" Kronos recordings are all here: "Black Angels" "Different Trains" "Salome Dances for Peace" (well, exceprts), and Feldman's Piano and String Quartet. Of particular note, I think is the inclusion of Gubaidulina's Quartet No 4, a fabulous recording that is otherwise hidden in Kronos' recording "Night Prayers."

Yes, this is quite an investment, but I firmly believe that it's worth it - longtime fans and newcomers alike have a lot to gain from this collection.

Excelent compilation!.......2001-09-09

I like more classic period, like Hayden, but Cronos does it very well, technicaly excelent. The ten sets are wonderful recordings and the selection is unique. It deserves the investment, If you buy it, youre going to have more than ten hours of joy.

Amazingly Now Retrospective.......2001-06-26

Since their youthful start in the NW back in the 70's, Kronos has collaborated with, commissioned, or just played such a breadth of musicians it almost seems that breadth - and especially non western world culture - is their mission. But, while this conservatively and esthetically designed 25-yr-retrospective box (with its increasingly sophisticated photo-portraits) belies the pulsation of social angst and conscience that underlies the bulk of the inclusions, the latter concern, its vitality and relevance - and not some stylish chasing after cultural breadth - is what overtakes the listener/reader, rather soon. I say reader, since the booklet is very helpful, especially to the relative novice, and well balanced in its coverage of composers, historical contexts, performers, individual texts, etc.

There are probably more non contemporaries performed by the Quartet over the years than this selection would indicate. That undercuts their ties with the sense of revolution in music throughout the ages, but it leaves more time for the present: and that is where one expects the group wishes to be, is most contributory and challenged, and is best and most fairly judged. Highly recommended, both for those who know Kronos's work well and wish a handsome tribute on their shelf, and for those who do not but are open and ready to be affected, whether impacted esthetically, reminded socio-morally, or whatever combination of both befits.

How Could You Not Listen?.......1998-12-19

My opinion pales when compared to this CD. Indeed the group's ingeniousness, its knowing and its balls are in full display here, hopefully to put to rest any lingering contention that there is little more to Kronos than form. To any person who accepts the merits of 20th-century music, this CD presents the genius of our culture and teaches that daring and ingenuity do not have to be sacrificed on the road to technical brilliance. My only regret is that the CD does not include Kronos's interpretation of Bartok. But, so what? Górecki's here, as are Part and Benshoof. Listen to this CD -- soar and struggle with it.

Good for help to know up-to-date contemporaly music.......1998-11-28

The Kronos Quartet has released many albums. There let us see what the quartet has tried new titles and arrenges in each period. But this is the best set for understand the quartet as summary of thier works. The CDs are distributed by each composers and we can see thier identities easily.Unfortunately this dose not include all but be enough to see what the quartet has been.I hope that every classical music fans(not only contemporaly music fans) listen this CDs.

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music

Average customer rating:

BUT WHY?
Great Recordings
A must for lovers of modern music

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music

Manufacturer: Col Legno
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

Trios | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music

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Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000038IDI
Release Date: 1999-11-15

Amazon.com

It starts, appropriately enough, with Charles Ives's The Unanswered Question, which seems to hold its breath, and occasionally exhale in brief bursts of panic, as the new century unfolds. It ends with Dmitri Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony Op. 110a (based on his String Quartet No. 8), whose alternating sequences of anguish, alarm, and derision come as close as possible for absolute music to indicting its bloody history--eight CDs and over 30 works later.

Rückblick Moderne: 20th Century Orchestral Music represents as fine a look back at musical modernism as you're likely to get. And in what a lavish package! A tall box holding two multi-CD jewel boxes and a beautifully printed booklet with photographs of modern and postmodern architecture and extensive liner notes (in German). Even the CDs themselves look handsome. All the more amazing when you realize that the entire set was digitally recorded live--with coughs, turning pages, chair creaks, and vivid sound--during one week in 1998 in Stuttgart (where, it seems, you have to travel nowadays even to hear about this kind of music), by such groups as the RSO Saarbrücken and the Bamberger Symphoniker, led by Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Gielen, Heinz Holliger, and other risk takers. Each CD has been programmed around a theme; for example, "Explosion/Implosion" (featuring Varèse and Mahler's tone poem Totenfeier, later becoming the first movement of his Second Symphony) and "Minimal Postludien," which includes (heads up, completists) Philip Glass's Echorus for two solo violins and string orchestra and Ligeti's Ramifications. Stravinsky, who, like Schoenberg and Cage, appears to cast a long shadow over this imposing collection, remains one of the highlights: a sharp, fiercely erotic performance of Le Sacre by Lothar Zagrosek and the Stattsorchester Stuttgart that helps remind us how much modern music has done, in the face of controversy and disaster, to ground us in our humanity. --Robert Burns Neveldine

Customer Reviews:

BUT WHY?.......2002-05-15

At eight cds, this could have been a hefty set of 20th century orchestral music. But somewhere along the line, around the beginning of planning the festival I'm guessing, something went horribly wrong. There were eight concerts, each with a theme. The pieces chosen have often only a tenuous connection with the theme, if any. There are no women composers. There are no composers from Romania. There are no composers from the Czech Republic. There are no composers from Poland. That means no Gubuidulina, no Ana-Marie Avram, no Joan Tower. That means no Dumitrescu or Janacek or Lutoslawski. Can you believe it? A collection of twentieth century orchestral music with no Lutoslawski? Verily it boggleth the mind.

But so what? Are the pieces they did play well played? Well, sometimes. Gielen and Zender get predictably excellent results. But much of the rest sounds for all the world like first reads. Extremely sensitive and polished first reads to be sure, but no sense of piece qua piece, a thing with a shape from start to finish. (This is most apparent in the eccentric phrasing.) These are not the newer pieces, either, but Ives and Ravel and Bartok and Stravinsky. You know these people have played these pieces dozens of times. No excuse.

It's hard to fault a company (Col legno) that puts out so many fine performances of the likes of Helmut Lachenmann, but in this venture I really think they dropped the ball.

Great Recordings.......2000-12-30

I wish I could read in German! This is the only "flaw" of this edition, in my opinion: it seems to have a great booklet, but I can't read it. Otherwise, it is a great collection: excelent recordings, good choice of works. I find it an excelent intro to modern music.

A must for lovers of modern music.......2000-06-26

This 8 CD collection contains a wonderfully diverse selection of works that trace the development of music through the century. This set contains music form the pivotal artists from the beginning of the century; Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Stravinsky, Debussy, Bartok, Ives and Varese. Master from later in the century include; Messiaen, Carter, Boulez, Cage, Feldman, Kurtag, Schnittke, Glass, and Ligeti. From the late romanticism of Mahler, to the impressionism of Ravel and Debussy, the atonality of the Second Viennese, the neo-styles of Stravinsky, Kurtag, Schostakovich, and Schnittke, to the minimalism of Glass, this collection has it all. Also within this collection are some classic compositions by lesser known masters such as; Maderna, Nono, Kagel. Rihm, Zimmerman, Furrer, and Lachenmann to name a few. Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Gielen, Heinze Holliger, and Hans Zender conduct superb performances of most of these classics. There is much to cherich in this collection, and are many treasures to be discovered.