Name: Quincy Porter - String Quartets by Potomac String Quartet, Quincy Porter, Quincy Porter - String Quartets
Brand: Potomac String Quartet
SKU: 034061091820
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (203 reviews)

ALBUM

Volume 1

Volume 2

A significant figure among modern American composers, Quincy Porter was a Connecticut Yankee who followed his own lights and maintained a powerful, individualistic style throughout his distinguished career. Yet in the decades since his death, Porter's music gradually fell into decline; as a result of this undeserved neglect, his works were virtually unknown to a generation of musicians outside academe and were rarely discussed within. But his revival appears to have come at last, with several worthy recordings appearing since the turn of the twenty first century. This double-disc set from Albany is the first complete recording of Porter's nine string quartets, which were composed between 1923 and 1958 and are now recognized as his most impressive works in the chamber field. The Potomac String Quartet has performed an inestimable service by rehabilitating Porter's cycle, which now joins the 10 string quartets of David Diamond in this group's recordings for Albany. Both composers are well served by this brilliant ensemble's artistic dedication, technical acumen, and expressive richness. Stylistically, Porter's string quartets are very much in the same vein from the early works to the late, with only occasional shifts in emphasis between a fluid modal idiom, derived from the French music he studied in his youth, and a more chromatic form of tonality, often reminiscent of Béla Bartók's early style. Even though Porter developed a unique personal language that could at times be complex in its harmonies and sophisticated in compositional techniques, his music was firmly rooted in the classical tradition and was always based on the standard forms, no matter how advanced the content might sound. All of these compositions, whether fully fledged quartets or short pieces, have benefited from the Potomac Quartet's coherent interpretations and committed playing. This virtuosic group has the skills, emotional commitment, and artistic panache to bring off the most technically difficult passages of Porter's string writing with brilliance, and it makes each of the parts feel independent and equal, thereby fulfilling the main goal of quartet playing. Yet as solid as the group is in execution, it is in interpretation that it has excelled. With no prior recorded legacy, these performances explore new realms and present the composer's most important works with a confidence that makes them feel authoritative. This is a major achievement that deserves serious attention and warrants a high recommendation for its admirable performances. Anyone who takes modern American chamber music seriously will value this package.

Quincy Porter - String Quartets

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Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 1

1. String Quartet No. 1: Largamente-Allegro

2. String Quartet No. 1: Grave

3. String Quartet No. 1: Allegro Molto

4. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro Molto

5. String Quartet No. 2: Adagio non troppo

6. String Quartet No. 2: Allegro

7. In Monasterio: Adagio

8. In Monasterio: Cantabile

9. In Monasterio: Allegro

10. String Quartet No. 3: Allegro

11. String Quartet No. 3: Andante

12. String Quartet No. 3: Allegro moderato

13. String Quartet No. 4: Allegro moderato

14. String Quartet No. 4: Lento

15. String Quartet No. 4: Allegro molto

16. Our Lady of Potchaly

17. Scherzo

18. Fugue

Volume 2

1. String Quartet No. 5: Adagio ma non troppo

2. String Quartet No. 5: Allegro moderato

3. String Quartet No. 5: Allegro Molto

4. String quartet No. 6: Allegro molto

5. String quartet No. 6: Adagio

6. String quartet No. 6: Allegro giocoso

7. String Quartet No. 7: Allegro moderato

8. String Quartet No. 7: Adagio molto

9. String Quartet No. 7: Allegro moderato

10. String Quartet No. 8

11. String Quartet No. 9

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