Ives and the JACK Quartet

Charles T. Downey, JACK Quartet adds its signature to Ives Project
Washington Post, November 7, 2011

Xenakis, Works with Piano, JACK Quartet et al.

It says something about the JACK Quartet that Charles Ives’s second string quartet is one of the oldest pieces in their repertoire. On Saturday night, the New York-based foursome brought the three-day Ives Project, hosted by the Post-Classical Ensemble, to its conclusion with an Ives-centered program in the Mansion at Strathmore.

Balancing the chaotic jumble of Ives was Philip Glass’s lyrical, opulently beautiful fifth string quartet, from 1991. It is a throwback to the cult of beauty in the history of the string quartet, recalling Glass’s avowed affinity for the music of Franz Schubert, with whom he shares a birthday. The JACK Quartet may have gained notoriety for its eclectic programming, but they will endure because they can play with a glowing, warm sound and poetic phrasing, even with simple, repetitive motifs. [Continue reading]

SEE ALSO:
Cecelia Porter, PostClassical Ensemble makes beautiful sense of Charles Ives’s music (Washington Post, November 4)

Andrew Lindemann Malone, Ives from All Sides (DMV Classical, November 6)

Tom Huizenga, JACK Quartet offers new music and dynamic variety (Washington Post, May 3, 2010)

On YouTube: the first recording of the Ives second quartet, by the Walden Quartet; and the Kronos Quartet's recording of Philip Glass's String Quartet No. 5