With this CD on Winter & Winter, the
Arditti String Quartet celebrates 40 years of cutting-edge performances. Long recognized as the leading string quartet in avant-garde circles, and admired for the brilliance and virtuosity of its performances of the most demanding works, the
Arditti gave its first concert in March, 1974, and over four decades it has not stopped rehearsing, studying, performing, and recording the most challenging music of our time. This program consists of 14 short works by some of the most prominent contemporary composers --
Wolfgang Rihm,
Hans Abrahamsen,
Toshio Hosokawa,
Brian Ferneyhough,
Brice Pauset,
Mark Andre,
Marco Stroppa, Liza Lim,
Harrison Birtwistle,
Hilda Paredes,
James Clarke,
Georg Friedrich Haas,
Uri Caine, and
Johannes Maria Staud -- and the variety of their compositions makes this survey a fascinating exploration of innovative techniques and original concepts. Adventurous listeners will be impressed by the
Arditti's fearlessness and directness in approaching this uncompromising music, and the liner notes by violinist
Irvine Arditti provide background information that will be helpful to those just discovering the group.