John Cage: Seven; Quartets I-VIII (2007)

For some listeners, John Cage's late pieces may seem too cerebral, fragmentary, or loosely structured to get a firm handle on them, and the variability of performances may make them seem a little difficult to follow or remember. Even so, this 2008 release from Neos offers a clear introduction to Cage's methods, and the enlightening performances by Daniel Grossman and the Orchester Jacobsplatz München are ideal for anyone coming to the music for the first time. Seven (1988) is a 20-minute chamber work for flute, clarinet, ... Read More

For some listeners, John Cage's late pieces may seem too cerebral, fragmentary, or loosely structured to get a firm handle on them, and the variability of performances may make them seem a little difficult to follow or remember. Even so, this 2008 release from Neos offers a clear introduction to Cage's methods, and the enlightening performances by Daniel Grossman and the Orchester Jacobsplatz München are ideal for anyone coming to the music for the first time. Seven (1988) is a 20-minute chamber work for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, viola, and cello that gives the musicians considerable freedom in choosing musical events, albeit within precisely timed measures, yet its meditative mood is remarkably consistent and the ensemble presents its material with steady control and a diaphanous sheen. The fairly minimalist Quartets I-VIII (1976) is actually an orchestral work that constantly shifts pitches from one instrumental quartet to the next, in a process Cage determined through using the I... Read Less