Search - Julia Wolfe, Ethel, Cassatt String Quartet :: Julia Wolfe: The String Quartets

Influence

David Brown | Marlton, NJ United States | 02/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What made me get this CD of Julia Wolfe's String Quartets was her citing of influences from Beethoven to Led Zeppelin. Specifically these string quartets were said to be inspired by Led Zeppelin and other American 'pop' music. I had to hear it.



Know what you're getting into before you buy this CD. All the pieces brush close to minimalism but with more intensity, less pure harmonies, and much better rhythm. You won't find shimmering, sweet harmonies but rather harsh and blunt harmonies. Her influences for these works seem to come from rock and metal less than from Beethoven, Schubert, or the like.



The first quartet, 'Big Deep', plays true to its name. It's an almost non-stop rhythmic work on some harsh, low chords. It almost reminds me of a metal band like Meshuggah being transcribed to String Quartet. It sounds like the soundtrack to an aggressive underwater expedition by the Discovery Channel. Different short, adventurous melodies try to break through on the violins occasionally but are always beaten down back into the 'big deep' of the rhythmic chords. It gets progressively more dissonant and harsher towards the end, building up a violent undercurrent that crashes against the end as suddenly as it began.



'Four Marys' is definately the most abstract sounding of the pieces. It is less repetitive than Big Deep. It begins with all parts doing glissandos, sliding around the middle registers. This eventually turns into some webs of soft harmonies sustained, and occasionally reverts back to its searching, sliding beginnings.



'Last Summer' is more remeniscent of the first piece, back to the grinding chords, but not as deep and to me not as memorable. It has more moments of melody, which is to say a few brief snatches of melody over 10 minutes. It's the least impressive work on the album to me.



If you're looking for music with brilliant progression, challenging harmonies and deeply emotional melody, this CD is not for you. If you want to hear some excellent rhythm work and see what happens when you take a classical medium into more modern rhythm and chord methods of rock and metal music (though i'm sure Wolfe wouldn't characterize it quite like that), then definately give this CD a shot."