In the note on the back of this CD, the musical career of Charles Wuorinen is compared to those of Beethoven and Brahms, but the justification for this curious idea may not be apparent to most listeners, since the music of these composers is quite dissimilar. Even though Wuorinen's models are familiar forms -- divertimento, string quartet, piano quintet, string sextet -- and his choice of instruments is conventional, his music nevertheless is modernist and uncompromising in its angular lines, dissonant chords, asymmetrical ...
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In the note on the back of this CD, the musical career of Charles Wuorinen is compared to those of Beethoven and Brahms, but the justification for this curious idea may not be apparent to most listeners, since the music of these composers is quite dissimilar. Even though Wuorinen's models are familiar forms -- divertimento, string quartet, piano quintet, string sextet -- and his choice of instruments is conventional, his music nevertheless is modernist and uncompromising in its angular lines, dissonant chords, asymmetrical phrases, sharp contours, and continually changing rhythms. Apart from any biographical similarities, comparisons with Beethoven and Brahms may be more relevant if one considers that Wuorinen's approach to his art is intellectual and solidly grounded in tradition, and that his expression is classically poised and lucid, rather than frenetically avant-garde or chaotic. Though the luscious sonorities of the Sextet may hint at triadic harmonies, and tonal suggestions may appear in the...
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