Renascence (2003)

The Alexander String Quartet's album Renascence features string quartets by Bartók, Ravel, and Bach/arr. Mozart, works that on the surface appear to have little if anything to do with one another. The album title, however, is what gives us the binding tie. Each piece contains a re-birth, or in this case a re-use, of musical material. In the Bartók, it is a structural and thematic re-use of material; in the Ravel, the renascence is found in the cyclical use of themes from the first movement in subsequent movements; for ... Read More

The Alexander String Quartet's album Renascence features string quartets by Bartók, Ravel, and Bach/arr. Mozart, works that on the surface appear to have little if anything to do with one another. The album title, however, is what gives us the binding tie. Each piece contains a re-birth, or in this case a re-use, of musical material. In the Bartók, it is a structural and thematic re-use of material; in the Ravel, the renascence is found in the cyclical use of themes from the first movement in subsequent movements; for Mozart, it is in arranging a revered work by an honored master. Perhaps not the strongest association between compositions on an album, especially considering there are scores of string quartets that are cyclical, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless. The Bartók Sixth Quartet, written during an extremely tumultuous and emotional time in the composer's life, is appropriately a quite dark and brooding work. The Alexander Quartet does an admirable job of capturing the emotive... Read Less