Cuarteto Latinoamericano
11 products
Chapi: String Quartets, Vol. 2 / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Villa-Lobos: The Complete String Quartets / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Review of an edition previously available of this same release:
These fine performances constitute the only complete cycle currently available of the 17 string quartets that pepper Villa-Lobos' entire career. The suite-like, five-movement No. 1, with its adorable "like a jumping bean" finale, is deceptive. Most of these are resoundingly neo-classical works full of acerbic harmonies and typically busy counterpoint, with few overtly nationalistic elements. Of course they sound just like Villa-Lobos, who was himself something of a "nationalistic element" when you come right down to it. The series reaches its culmination in the large works composed around the time of the Second World War, Nos. 7-11, which really do constitute landmark 20th century contributions to the form on a par with those of Shostakovich and Bartók.
For the most part, this is tough and serious music, and it receives tough and serious performances from the Cuarteto Latinoamericano, whose rhythmic verve and slightly astringent timbre works beautifully in clarifying the dense thicket of the composer's effusive counterpoint. Occasionally the very intensity of both music and performance becomes a bit overbearing, but then no one is suggesting that you listen to 17 quartets in a row. Overall, both the works themselves and these performances remain astonishingly consistent in quality. Sonically you couldn't ask for better. At a bargain price, this is a very attractive proposition for anyone who fancies either the composer or chamber music in general.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
Mario Lavista: Complete String Quartets
LAVISTA String Quartets:
No. 1, “Diacronia”;
No. 2, “Reflejos de la noche”;
No. 3, “Música para mi vecino”;
No. 4, “Sinfonias”;
No. 5, “7 Invenciones”;
No. 6, “Suite en 5 partes”
Cuarteto Latinoamericano • TOCCATA TOCC 0106 (75:27)
The influences on the work of Mario Lavista (b. 1943), Mexico's leading contemporary composer, range from mediaeval, religious and folk music to modernism. His music has a powerful sense of atmosphere and colour — the Second String Quartet, Reflejos de la noche, is played entirely on harmonics — and a vigorous rhythmic drive reminiscent of the quartet-writing of Shostakovich.
Cuarteto Latinoamericano, string quartet
---------------------
The playing of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano is accomplished, free yet tightly directed from start to finish. Indeed, the quartet was effectively the inspiration, the impetus certainly, for most of these quartets. The players seem to have the music in their blood. It would be hard to think of more persuasive accounts.
The booklet that comes with this CD is informative without feeling any need to rush, proselytise or over-advocate. That must be in keeping with what one senses is an aspect of Lavista's confident and generous personality. To be judged sui generis for sure, these six works are not only different enough one from another, but also amazingly creative enough to repay repeated hearings. As an indication of new directions for the medium, they make every sense. As beautiful works in their own right, they are superb.
-- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International
Villa-Lobos: The String Quartets, Vol. 6 / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
This selection was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance.
Chapi: String Quartets No 1 & 2 / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
These are major works, full-length, and ambitious in scope–they play for about 35 minutes each. The First Quartet’s first movement features about a billion repetitions of its principal motive, but even there Chapí’s powers of invention are pretty astonishing. The music is insistent, but never dull. The master lyricist is always in evidence, with tunes that always sing, while the treatment of texture is astonishingly colorful. There’s plenty of pizzicato for variety, while the layout of the four instrumental lines is consistently airy and spacious. Combine that with the obviously Spanish melodic idiom, and the result is enchanting from start to finish.
The Cuarteto Latinoamericano plays with typical incisiveness and verve. However, the ensemble smartly tempers its trademark sharp sonority in a manner consistent with the music’s elegance and warmth, especially in the two slow-ish movements (Andante mosso and Allegretto, respectively). The truth is, there is very little actual slow music in these quartets. They quite literally seethe with energy, but the players differentiate and characterize each section notably well. Superb engineering from Sono Luminus captures every inflection with natural fidelity. A great release.
-- David Hurwitz, ClassocsToday.com
Encores / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Brasileiro - Works Of Francisco Mignone / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Francisco Mignone (1897 - 1986) was one of the most accomplished musicians Brazil has ever had. In addition to being a masterful composer, he was also a great teacher, a successful conductor, an exceptional pianist, a great orchestrator, and in addition, a man of extensive culture. Because he settled in Rio de Janeiro in 1933, many people forget that Mignone was born in Sao Paulo, in 1897. A son of Italian immigrants, he began studying music with his father, who was an excellent flutist. In 1920 Mignone travels to Italy, where he studies with Vincenzo Ferroni (1858-1934), who had taught other Brazilian composers. It was there that he composed his first opera, “O Contratador de Diamantes” (“The Diamond Contractor”). He returned to Brazil in 1929, and in 1933 Mignone moves permanently to Rio de Janeiro and begins to occupy important chairs in the musical life of what was then the federal capital, including Music Director of the National Institute of Music’s Orchestra.
R E V I E W :
MIGNONE String Quartets: No. 1; No. 2. 3 Spanish Songs. 2 Essays. Barcarola. Minuet • Latinoamericano Qrt • SONO LUMINUS DSL 92147 (60:27)
Francisco Mignone (1897–1986), a Brazilian of Italian background, was a much-loved figure in the musical circles of Rio de Janeiro. BIS produced a disc of his orchestral music in 2005 (see Fanfare 28:6), and here we have a disc of his string-quartet music from the distinguished Latinoamericano Quartet. Mignone was a secondary composer, exhibiting all the good points of that species, such as highly refined craftsmanship, a working knowledge of instruments, and a solid sense of form. His music for string quartet is by no means groundbreaking, either technically (Bartók) or expressively (Shostakovich—or, nearer to home, Revueltas), yet while it may lack individuality, the composer’s incorporation of Latin American rhythms and bluesy harmonies into his work does give it a distinctively nationalistic voice. A breeziness to his music invokes an idealized Brazilian countryside; moreover, unlike the music of Villa-Lobos, there is never any suggestion of note-spinning or filler passages. Mignone is succinct.
The masterpiece is the Second Quartet, which opens the disc. Its first movement contains flowing melodic writing, with a cheeky use of portamento , while the concluding third movement has a bracing rhythmic zest. The slow movement, however, is the real gem; beginning with a soulful Villa-Lobos type theme from the cello, it progresses to an agitated middle section (featuring slithery chromatic harmony) to close on a beguiling jazz-flavored cadence.
The First Quartet follows the same structural pattern of fast/slow/fast. Its first movement is more fragmentary; the second movement is notable for a hint of the tango within its intricate and evocative textures. The finale is a relatively amiable, full-toned rondo. Both quartets were composed simultaneously in 1957, Mignone’s annus mirabilis for string-quartet writing.
The remainder of the program consists of small works where the composer’s creative impulse might be termed more easygoing. Most of them date from earlier in his career. My favorites are the Three Spanish Songs, transcriptions Mignone made of songs he wrote while visiting Spain in 1932. Despite their provenance, they are pervaded by a lyricism that could only be called Italianate. The first song, a subdued lullaby titled Nana , is particularly lovely. Similarly, the Andante cantabile (the first of the Two Essays ) is unashamedly romantic.
The Latinoamericano plays this program to perfection. We owe the group so much for its tireless investigation of Latin repertoire, of which this disc is yet another shining example. I would recommend it for those times when Bartók feels too aggressive or Shostakovich too melancholy. In fact, in terms of melodic flow and expressivity, the quartet composer who comes to mind as a yardstick is Borodin.
Sound quality is excellent.
FANFARE: Phillip Scott
Mexican Romantic Quartets / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
Eddie Mora: String Quartets Nos. 1, 2 & 3; Sula'; Bocetos A Yolanda
Turina, Debussy: String Quartets / Cuarteto Latinoamericano
