Edward Cowie: Three Quartets and a Solo
Edward Cowie is one of the most individual and notable voices in contemporary music – which he sees as both conscious and unconscious sensitivity to sound. Highly inspired by Nature and our world, he works with sound, colour, order and disorder, shape, pattern and form which he sees a part of a grand unification of sensual input. As an acclaimed and successful visual artist, he creates drawings to visualise his subject matter before composing. His music is not however ‘filmic’ or directly impressionistic but draws from the essence of nature, wildlife and the seasons to create his unique soundworld.
The Kreutzer Quartet is one of the most accomplished and creative ensembles in the UK and is acclaimed for its adventurous programming of both the music of our time and the great quartet heritage of the past. It has been the recipient of works from many of today’s pre-eminent composers, and has performed around Europe as well as at its ‘home base’ of Wilton’s Music Hall in London. The quartet has recorded a substantial number of albums for Métier as well as Chandos, Naxos, NMC, Toccata and several other labels.
Track Listing
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Edward Cowie (b.1943):
- String Quartet No. 1 'Dungeness Nocturnes' (14:17)
- String Quartet No. 2 'Crystal Dances' (17:48)
- GAD (for solo violin)(16:37)
- String Quartet No. 6 'The Four Winds' - I. West Wind - Autumn (6:46)
- String Quartet No. 6 'The Four Winds' - II. North Wind - Winter (5:02)
- String Quartet No. 6 'The Four Winds' - III. East Wind - Spring (5:36)
- String Quartet No. 6 'The Four Winds' - IV. South Wind - Summer (5:25)
Reviews
“Well, now, here’s another interesting composer and some very interesting music. What I like most about Cowie is his lack of predictability; he clearly relies on his own impulses and reactions to the natural world, and thus tries to “compose” that natural world in his scores. He is inspired by the moment, yet he knows how to tie those moments together to produce music that is coherent.
” —Lynn Rene Bayley
“A unique idiom that can’t usefully be described as tonal, atonal, sonorist, or anything else; it may be any of these things, or directly imitative of natural sounds in close succession, or simultaneously. Progress is determined organically, and the string writing is idiomatic and assured. Tense, edgy, brittle, but with sudden revelatory moments of incandescent beauty.
” —Anonymous Reviewer
“In these pieces, Cowie expresses his conviction that music is a biological phenomenon, that music ought to reflect nature. We receive continual surprises, multi-faceted filigree, and material unfolding at independent tempi. Cowie’s language is boldly consistent.
” —Grant Chu Covell
“The four pieces on this release unfold with a powerful sense of inevitability and they all benefit from the Kreutzer Quartet’s outstanding technical skill. Intricately constructed work of considerable refinement, rendered here with immense concentration and inventiveness… great sensitivity and expressive subtlety.
” —Paul Conway
“Certainly the natural world is central to the quartets here… an obviously contemporary sound but not completely dissonant and [which] is quite nocturnal at times. All you need to know about the performances is that Cowie says that “no composer could ever be served, illuminated and translated by better or more brilliantly insightful players than the Kreutzer Quartet”
” —Terry Robbins
“Remarkably varied and imaginative and I can’t help but hear landscape in every note. The composer could not have wished for a more committed and dramatic performance and this applies to all of the performances on this disc.Superbly recorded with useful essays, photographs and reproductions of Cowie’s paintings.
” —Gary Higginson
“The Kreutzer Quartet play well; its members include violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved, always a safe pair of hands. Modern in that it’s not big on melody but not so fragmented or jarring to render it un-approachable.
” —Jeremy Condliffe
“The Kreutzer Quartet worked closely with the composer, making this a definitive performance of his music. Powerfully atmospheric… although the music is firmly on the atonal spectrum it has strong thematic development. Peter Sheppard Skærved gives a stunning virtuoso performance of the piece for solo violin entitled GAD… it displays a host of violin technical fireworks and holds together particularly impressively in this performance.
” —Alan Cooper
“A remarkable new CD. The performances of these four works are ideal. Every bar suggests that violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved and the other members of the Kreutzer Quartet have a great empathy with this music and create a magical and engrossing performance. The musical language of this music is as diverse as its emotional background. The liner notes are impressive. They include the preparatory paintings Cowie made before starting work on his quartets. They are excellent and would grace any art collection. Let us hope that this is really an ongoing project.
” —John France
“The string quartets are played with verve and true musical understanding by The Kreutzer Quartet, one of the most accomplished, creative and adventurous ensembles in the UK. The sparkling violin solo piece ‘GAD’ is played by The Kreutzer Quartet’s founder and leader, Peter Sheppard Skærved.
” —John Pitt
“Quietly frenetic…dazzlingly faceted … often surprisingly playful.
” —Stephen Pettitt
![19 September brings Gerard McChrystal & Richard Shaw's recording of Edward Cowie: Because They Have Songs! Listen to the first track today on #AppleMusicClassical and more: listn.fm/becausetheyhavesongs [in bio]](https://scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/538972555_18288426868283342_5911419903410525110_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=NUQ6iCsy8swQ7kNvwFRRn5Q&_nc_oc=Adn3uYUhIfXH2ih-R9acGHTkaTO6AQsgl0DkM6PQQpkso_jcRv5ERabBEheyEy-PnfMv_0w57Z64MZvsLqnrhLxn&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=rrh7rE17ckgRTofkOHuyYw&oh=00_Afa3J4-PCbcQMmkQOv-oiUcIK5rsDL6xIxYIpt1empoP9A&oe=68C3B13F)
