George Rochberg: String Quartets 3-6
Liner Notes   Cat. No. 80551     Release Date: 1999-01-01

Concord String Quartet

Here is the CD premiere of the works that were hailed as masterpieces at their New York premiere in 1979-the "Concord" Quartets of George Rochberg. These works undoubtedly represent one of the peaks of American chamber music of the last half of the twentieth century. 

A highly respected practitioner of serialism, George Rochberg underwent a major spiritual crisis in the early 1960s after the death of his son. The Third through Sixth quartets were the result of his struggle to find a language that could bear the weight of his sorrow and point toward transcendence. Furthermore, it was a language that was immediately communicable to listeners. Although he abandoned serialism, his new style embraced both tonality and atonality, dramatically reinterpreting the notion of stylistic uniformity that had been a hallmark of the Western aesthetic since antiquity.

In these works, Rochberg boldly challenged the music world's status quo, and his challenge has resonated through the ensuing decades, shifting the profile of modern music at the century's close into a shape that thirty years ago would have been unthinkable. Definitive performances by the works' dedicatees, the Concord Quartet, the preeminent new music advocates of their day.

Concord String Quartet

George Rochberg: String Quartets 3-6

MP3/320 $30.00
FLAC $30.00
WAV $30.00
2x CD-R+ $53.00
CD-R+ titles come in a jewel case with print booklet.                         Liner Notes
A *.pdf of the notes may also be accessed here free of charge.

String Quartet No. 3: Part A (Introduzione: Fantasia & March)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 3: Part B (Variations)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 3: Part C (March & Finale: Scherzos and Serenades)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 4: I. Fantasia (Ironica)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 4: II. Fuga
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 4: III. Serenade
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 4: IV. Fantasia (Serioso)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 5: I. Molto allegro marziale
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 5: II. Mesto
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 5: III. Scherzo
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 5: IV. Serenade
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 5: V. Rondo-Finale
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 6: I. Fantasia
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 6: II. Scherzo-Humoresque
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 6: III. Variations (on Pachelbel Canon)
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 6: IV. Serenade
George Rochberg
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String Quartet No. 6: V. Introduction and Finale
George Rochberg
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