SOUNDS OF AMERICA
by Iranian composer Kian Ravaei, where haunting arabesque-like improvisatory melodies circle around a set of static drones, at times evoking the kamancheh string instrument, or in the luminous pentatonic lines and unison passages of Akshaya Avril Tucker’s Breathing Sunlight. While such pieces could have merited inclusion in Gramophone’s sister music magazine Songlines, other works draw on contemporary classical elements in more obvious ways, as heard in the bold exchanges in Karl Mitze’s breathless Seesaw or Gemma Peacocke’s Fluorescein, where circulating lines and flowing patterns mimic the fluorescent compound that gives the work its title. The album’s best moments nevertheless lie with compositions that seem less preoccupied with exploring cultural reference points than developing a more distinct sense of their own sonic identity. silhouette, mirror by 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist Leilehua Lanzilotti does this especially well, evolving a spectral-like sound world through combining string techniques such as ricochet alongside natural and artificial harmonics, sustained notes and various kinds of tremolando.
Our monthly guide to North American ensembles Quatuor Molinari
Founded 1997 Home Montreal
Benefiting from a well-judged and balanced recording where the two instruments are placed slightly to either side of the stereo image, these performances also gain much from Cheregosha and Spaulding’s contrasting playing styles. Cheregosha’s poised and balanced ‘classical’ approach acts as a foil to Spaulding’s more gestural, dramatic qualities. However, there are times – such as in the album’s intriguing title-track by Inti Figgis-Vizueta – where the instruments become indistinguishable, like a single super viola gliding effortlessly in a highly integrated sound space. Pwyll ap Siôn
Their first Prix Opus was as ‘découvert de l’année’, an honour given to promising newcomers, which this foursome founded in 1997 could certainly claim to be. Twenty-seven years later, the Quatuor Molinari has acquired 27 of these awards conferred by the Conseil Québécois de la Musique, including a 2022-23 trifecta for contemporary recording of the year (‘Lumières nordiques’, a collection of Canadian works), contemporary concert of the year (an evening of Berio) and artistic director of the year (Olga Ranzenhofer, the Montreal-born founding first violin of the ensemble).
The Molinaris are named after the Montreal abstractionist Guido Molinari (1933-2004), whose paintings, often constructed of stripes and squares of vivid colours, can be compared to the clear sonorities and modern sensibilities of the quartet. Sometimes the ensemble performs ‘musique à voir’ concerts in Molinari’s east-end former studio, which now houses the Guido Molinari Foundation.
The visual accoutrements do not distract from the musical mission. Molinari wardrobe is usually classic black-and-white. Populist outreach efforts are conspicuous by their absence. There was a collaboration last year with the French accordionist Richard Galliano, but Gubaidulina, Kurtág, Ligeti, Scelsi, Schnittke, Schoenberg and Shostakovich are more typical of the names that populate a Molinari programme.
Not that Canadian music is neglected. Ranzenhofer has made a special project of R Murray Schafer, a visionary in many media, who died in 2021. The Molinaris have recorded the first 12 of his 13 string quartets, five of which were dedicated to the ensemble. The last, which they premiered in 2016, was subtitled ‘Alzheimer’s Masterpiece’ by the composer – a frank reference to the disease with which he had been diagnosed. Montreal is a good home base. As well as the Molinari Foundation space, the quartet performs interactive ‘Dialogue’ concerts at the Plateau-Mont-Royal branch of the municipal Maison de la Culture system and more formal programmes at the concert hall of the Conservatoire de Montréal, with which the Molinaris are linked as quartet in residence.
They do not tour much. The other members – Antoine Bareil (second violin), Frédéric Lambert (viola) and Pierre-Alain Bouvrette (cello) – have local teaching and freelance orchestral gigs to fulfil. Ranzenhofer herself is the former principal second violin of the Orchestre Métropolitain.
The Molinaris nonetheless maintain an international profile with their recordings for ATMA Classique, a label conveniently headquartered in Montreal. Apart from the aforementioned barrel of Prix Opus awards, the quartet earned a 2016 Diapason d’Or and 2017 Echo Klassik (both for a recording of Kurtág’s quartets). A Penderecki album was granted five stars of five by this author, who admired the players’ adeptness at capturing the ‘fierce tremolos, forceful pulses and wailing glissandi’ of the 1968 String Quartet No 2 as well as the softer sounds of its successor score of 1998.
Another international enterprise is the quartet’s triennial competition for under-40 composers, which this year attracted 111 entries from 33 countries. Universal Edition supports the competition by offering the four laureates a professional evaluation. Moritz Eggert took second prize in the initial scrimmage of 2002. Other winners include Alberto Colla, David Hefti and Sne¥ana Ne≈ic´.
Future plans on ATMA include recordings of quartets by Berio and the Azerbaijani composer Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. Might there be another Prix Opus in the offing? ‘We do have a lot’, Ranzenhofer says. ‘I get teased sometimes about leaving some for others. Or that they should make a special category just for us!’ Arthur Kaptainis gramophone.co.uk
GRAMOPHONE NOVEMBER 2024 V
