“Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.” John Cage, 1937 Next week, Sydney based string quartet The NOISE performs in Darlinghurst. The evening promises to be a historic one with 7 contemporary composers present. During the evening they…
Elena Kats-Chernin says she has been told she can write no more works for String Quartet. She displays a mischievous pleasure at my alarm. The Sydney composer has recently released a recorded collection of her ‘complete’ works for string quartet, entitled Blue Silence. ‘Complete’ to date, and therefore the end of a chapter. “But it’s only the…
It’s a dream combination. A composer in the mainstream of her creativity handpicks a string quartet to make the premiere recording of her music and then coaches them in the way she wants to the music to sound. Add to this, a recording producer who understands implicitly what the composer wants and who has the formidable reputation as…