LA Times Review of Microfest

This sounds like it was a terrific concert:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-microfest-johnston-review-20120427,0,639344.story

Ben Johnston's tenth string quartet was premiered.

"The concert ended with the first Southern California performance of the tenth of Johnston's 10-string quartets, written in 1995, and also the really belated Southern California debut of the exciting Del Sol String Quartet, a Bay Area fixture for nearly two decades.

The Tenth has the quality of late Beethoven, in that it generates the sublime from the simplicity of classical models. The last of its four movements is a set of variations, but as in Elgar's "Enigma Variations," the theme is hidden until the end.

That theme is "Danny Boy" — yes "Danny Boy" — first disguised as a kind off-kilter, off-key Renaissance dances. When the tune finally arrives full-blown, harmonized microtonality, the feeling I got was of the room doubling in size, so vast were the sonorities. A much too famous tune by a much too nonfamous composer was made magnificent."

Prent ROdgers

Oh MAN would I like to have been there! AGP 9 has quartet
number 6, and it's amazing. And, your post arrived just as
I finished watching this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n68WBx91nQE

which isn't something I do often.

-Carl

Prent wrote:

>This sounds like it was a terrific concert:
>http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-microfest-johnston-rev
>iew-20120427,0,639344.story
>
>Ben Johnston's tenth string quartet was premiered.
>
>"The concert ended with the first Southern California performance of
>the tenth of Johnston's 10-string quartets, written in 1995, and also
>the really belated Southern California debut of the exciting Del Sol
>String Quartet, a Bay Area fixture for nearly two decades.
>
>The Tenth has the quality of late Beethoven, in that it generates the
>sublime from the simplicity of classical models. The last of its four
>movements is a set of variations, but as in Elgar's "Enigma
>Variations," the theme is hidden until the end.
>
>That theme is "Danny Boy" — yes "Danny Boy" — first disguised as a
>kind off-kilter, off-key Renaissance dances. When the tune finally
>arrives full-blown, harmonized microtonality, the feeling I got was of
>the room doubling in size, so vast were the sonorities. A much too
>famous tune by a much too nonfamous composer was made magnificent."
>
>Prent ROdgers
>