Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 'Métamorphoses nocturnes'

“Bartók's piece has perhaps the most unsettling opening of any string quartet – a discomfiting premonition of the technical challenges ahead, from the furtive prestissimo to the biting pizzicatos of the allegretto, all navigated with sensitivity to the changing moodscape by the Quarteto Casals” The Independent, 30th July 2010 ****

“The Bartok Fourth Quartet receives a relatively 'classical', even cool account - not as relentlessly hard-driven as some other recent accounts of the piece but in itself perfectly valid (and certainly not as exhausting). On the technical elevel, it is practically perfect.” International Record Review, October 2010

“Cuarteto Casals hold their big-boned, heart-on-sleeve sound in reserve for much of this disc, unleashing it only in the brutal blur of the second movement of Métamorphoses nocturnes.” The Independent on Sunday, 3rd October 2010

“…in the sequence of short movements of the Bartók-inspired First Quartet, their impetuosity matches the quicksilver reverses of mood and texture, and the slower music isn't short-changed. The modernist Second Quartet… allows more detail to come through, and shows their total command of all Ligeti's demands for technical and dynamic extremes.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2005 *****

“Few string quartets of the late 20th century are as often performed as these, and it was only a matter of time before one of the up-and-coming younger ensembles took up the challenge thrown down by the Arditti Quartet in their recent rerecording of both pieces for Sony (their earlier reading on Wergo dates from the late 1970s).
The First Quartet, Métamorphoses nocturnes, dates from Ligeti's Hungarian period, and the evident debt to Bartók notwithstanding, his approach to mass and textural transformation is recognisable to anyone familiar with his later music. To their credit, the Artemis let the music breathe, and make much of Ligeti's impish humour: both works are theatrical and benefit from being 'played up', which the Artemis do perhaps more freely than the Ardittis.
The Artemis are miked closely, but the sound still allows for some beautifully differentiated, 'atmospheric' timbres (like the 'organ-stops' of bar 71, first movement). There's also a more palpable sense of immediacy, and a more riotous climax in the most abrupt passages (the ferocissimo fourth movement, most obviously). The Artemis offer a sufficiently different view from the Ardittis to make for an unmissable alternative.
First-time buyers need not hesitate.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Here is another relatively new quartet plunging into the recording fray with 'high-end' repertory and reaping the rewards of their apparent fearlessness...the recordings have the conviction and character of single takes...The Parkers...make one eager to hear more contemporary repertoire from them” Gramophone Magazine, April 2010

The Marlboro Music Festival has been a mecca for chamber music in America. Founded by Rudolf Serkin, the Festival recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with the release of these performances. Highlights include Benita Valente's gorgeous reading of Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, and Sandor Vegh leading a wild performance of Bartok's Divertimento for String Orchestra.