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Fanfare

The Kreutzer Quartet is a British ensemble with a diverse repertoire, particularly focusing on the contemporary. This disc is titled The Kreutzer Effect, indicating the long, deep relationships that Australian composer Edward Cowie (b. 1943) has with the group. The program assembles one piece for each member and then Cowie’s String Quartet No. 7, written for the whole ensemble.

Cowie’s music is extremely fragmentary. There are few long melodic passages, few passages that I would even call themes. Everything comes in short bursts. Cowie has a strong fondness for nature, and we hear what sound like evanescent bird calls. That is particularly true in his Seventh Quartet, but the same trait comes to the fore in the solo works too. The idiom is freely tonal, with gestures both dissonant and consonant. Cowie also exhibits a sense of humor, such as in the verbal interjections from the second violinist in One Second Fiddle (trying to demand as much attention as the first violinist). The Kreutzer Quartet’s violist, Clifton Harrison, suffered an injury before the recording of Cowie’s work for unaccompanied viola, Whatever Happened to Icarus? and violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved switched to viola for the recording, playing the piece brilliantly.

Cowie was a violinist himself before injury to his left hand ended his performing career, but clearly he has a strong affection for and knowledge of string instruments. In Fanfare 40:1, Phillip Scott reviewed a disc of Cowie’s String Quartets Nos. 3 to 5, where he commented on the composer’s affection for representing nature and natural phenomena in his music. The three movements of the Seventh Quartet, which is subtitled “Western Australia,” are titled “The Road of Flowers,” “Hamelin Pool – Shark Bay,” and “The Pinnacles: Nambung National Park.” The first movement is marked by stops and starts, representing the way a person would stop to examine a particular group of flowers before moving on. The final moments of that movement are peacefully contemplative. The second movement is inspired by the algae in the waters of Shark Bay, and the flights of the Australian swallows who live in that area. The finale depicts that variety of shapes and colors in the national park. In all the pieces here Cowie’s music seems marked by nervous energy, a vivid imagination for color, restlessness, and constant change. While I enjoyed each piece individually, I also found myself wearying of his distinctive style for its relentless nature. I started wishing for a long phrase and a passage of lyrical beauty instead of abrupt bursts of color. I would suggest sampling the disc online before plunging in for a purchase.

There can be no denying the brilliance of the Kreutzer Quartet’s performances or the excellence of the recorded sound. Cowie’s notes are very helpful as well.