Tetras (1983) (17:33)
Tetora (1990) (13:41)
ST-4/1,080262 (1956-62) (12:56)
Ergma (1994) (8:30)
The JACK Quartet:
Christopher Otto and Ari Streisfeld, violins
John Pickford Richards, viola
Kevin McFarland, cello
• 2009: Ten Exceptional Recordings : Alex Ross, The New Yorker
• 2009’s Best (Mostly) ‘New Music,’ From Q2 : Nadia Sirota, WQXR/WNYC Radio, #1 “The JACK Quartet provides the first complete compilation of these stochastically composed works. They’re witty, eccentric, challenging and worth it.”
• The Best Albums 2009, Steve Smith, Time Out New York : “JACK Quartet’s Xenakis String Quartets was a genuine event. A mix of audacity and assurance turned this confident young ensemble’s survey of thorny Xenakis compositions into a genuine event.”
• Jeremy Eichler’s top classical albums of 2009, The Boston Globe : “The Jack Quartet brings out the exhilarating, visceral edge of this brainy and astringent music. For the most fearless new-music lover on your list.”
The first complete recording of Xenakis’ string quartets.
The first new recording of Xenakis’ first three quartets since 1994.
The only available recording of Xenakis’ last quartet, “Ergma”, from 1994.
The first commercial release by the JACK Quartet, a young New York/Boston based group that has been garnering high praise for their performances of complex and challenging new music. The members of the quartet met while attending the Eastman School of Music, New York. The quartet has since studied closely with the Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Muir String Quartet, and members of the Ensemble Intercontemporain.
“The Jack Quartet, an ensemble of young string players devoted to contemporary music, played the Le Poisson Rouge in October. I would never have expected to see a crowd at a downtown nightclub erupting with whoops after performances of four hypercomplex, cutting-edge string quartets by Iannis Xenakis. But in this setting these dense and kinetic works came across to this open-minded audience as just more hip, wild, out-there contemporary music.”
— Anthony Tommasini, “Classical Music That Dared To Be Different”, The New York Times, Sunday, December 21, 2008
High resolution 24-bit recording.
Liner notes by James Harley.
On Surround Sound DVD only:
The studio recording process was dynamically captured by a multiple camera shoot. Each quartet is given its own visual treatment.
Filmed in High Definition Video, widescreen format.
48khz/24-bit high resolution 5.1 surround sound recording.
