Gloria Coates: String Quartets Nos. 1, 5, 6

Gloria Coates (Composer), Kreutzer Quartet (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Kreutzer Quartet
• Composer: Gloria Coates
• Audio CD (March 19, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos American
• ASIN: B00005Y0MR
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #284,767 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual string quartets from a highly individual composer, January 18, 2004

By	Edward Wright (Toronto, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The German-based American composer Gloria Coates has been getting increasing attention from record companies recently, and now Naxos' American Classics series has been getting in on the act with a two-volume set of her numbered string quartets. In this volume, the Kreutzer Quartet record the First Quartet, written in 1966, the Fifth, written in 1988, and the Sixth from 1999. (The other five numbered quartets will appear in the second volume; I don't know if Naxos plan to release the miscellaneous quartet works in a third volume.)

The Fifth Quartet is, at 31 minutes, the longest of Coates' quartets, and like many of her works is in three movements. The first movement takes simple diatonic material and spins a double canon from it--with the subtle twist that the first violin and viola are tuned a quarter-tone above the other two instruments, creating a shimmering haze of Ligetian harmonies. The second movement offers an example of Coates' obsessive use of glissandi, with a Christmas carol melody decorated by a haze of glissandi. By the final movement, all non-glissando material has been removed from the work, and the music swirls up and down in at first increasing and then decreasing leaps.

As might be expected, the First (or Protestation) Quartet is the shortest and least ambitious of the works here. A six-minute single movement, it is really a monologue for solo cello accompanied by a complex canon for the other instruments. If more electic than Coates' later work, it still shows how early her interest in canonic forms manifested itself.

Probably the finest of the three quartets here is the Sixth. Like the Fifth, it is in three movements, but it is somewhat shorter (22 minutes) and simpler in structure. The first movement is mostly quiet and revolves around slow change--each instrument plays long notes that slowly shift towards making up and E minor chord. Some may find the gradual clarification of the harmony over six minutes to remind them of 1960s Ligeti; I found that in terms of the musical result (if not the techniques used) this movement reminded me of the Forms by James Tenney. The second movement is one of Coates' essay in massed glissandi, with a fragmentary violin melody occasionally emerging from the textures. The finale is merely a recapitaluation of the first movement.

I admit to finding the Fifth Quartet a little problematical (twenty minutes of piled up glissandi without a break tries my patience), but the other works--particularly the Sixth--are stronger. With the Naxos price and with fine performances from the excellent Kreutzer Quartet (who are becoming remarkable servants for lesser-known 20th Century Quartets, as witness their Gerhard and Finnissy recordings), this is worth considering if the musical style appeals.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious Sounds, March 17, 2003

By	Corinne Marshall (Siloam Springs AR) - See all my reviews

I was astounded when I first played this CD. The sounds were so unusual, so much like a full orchestra that I checked the cover to be sure I had the recording I had ordered. Careful listening revealed only four instruments, but what a variety of timbres! Who could guess that stringed instruments were capable of such music? The performers are superb. They master challenges of pitch, rhythm and harmonics that would make lesser performers quail.Coates's music is her own, unlike that of any other composer. It expands one's listening skills as melodies repeat themselves in different voices at different speeds. Listen for the lines. This is contemporary music that is comprehensible because of the standard, even old-fashioned, forms it follows. But the real joy comes in hearing the exploitation of the capabilities of instrument and performer. Now I listen every night to one of the quartets before I fall asleep.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uber Postmodern Sensory Bliss, April 17, 2003

By	mxr54321 "marcy54321" (allentown) - See all my reviews

If you are seeking a true diversion try these string quartets by Coates. The magical and unusual sounds Coates creates (I have no clue how she does this or how this music can even be written down on paper for that matter) all come together to paint an eloquent picture. Suddenly, you find yourself whisked forward and back through time and space. These are the sounds of nature from other times and places both past and future. And remarkably, these quartets are here for us to enjoy in the present!