String Quartets Nos. 6, 7, & 8

by Ben Johnston / Kepler Quartet

String Quartets Nos. 6, 7, & 8 cover art

This recording completes the Kepler Quartet's ambitious, multi-year project to document Ben Johnston's ten string quartets, works renowned for their revolutionary use of extended just intonation. The album features the world-premiere recordings of the Seventh and Eighth quartets, navigating the former's legendary microtonal complexity and the latter's neo-classical forms. Through a performance of exacting precision, the quartet reveals the unique sonorities and uncanny beauty of Johnston's compositions, which float free from the moorings of conventional twelve-tone equal temperament.

Genres

  • Microtonal Classical
  • Chamber Music
  • String Quartet

Tracklist

  1. String Quartet No. 7: Scurrying, Forceful, Intense
  2. String Quartet No. 7: Eerie
  3. String Quartet No. 7: With Solemnity
  4. String Quartet No. 8: Vigorous, Aggressive
  5. String Quartet No. 8: Lazy, Rocking
  6. String Quartet No. 8: Fast, Skimming - Light
  7. String Quartet No. 8: Extremely Light and Rhythmic
  8. String Quartet No. 6: Legato espressivo
  9. Quietness