Leo Ornstein (1892-2002), son of a Russian cantor, grew up hearing not only Jewish liturgical music, but Greek and Armenian chant, and Russian folk music as well. These influences are featured and blended in his music, together with a highly personal language of dissonant tonality. The Piano Quintet (1927) is always tonal, though not in a traditionally "functional" way. Long build-ups of gradually piled-up dissonance arrive at forceful climaxes that have panoramic scope and power. Sweeping melodies float beatlessly over strongly marked metric supports. In the outer movements, the mood is often epic; one is reminded of the movies of Eisenstein and the great Russian landscapes, marauding bands of Cossacks, affecting cantorial wails-the irresistible momentum of history. The slow movement is an eloquent expression of human sadness.

In the String Quartet No. 3 (1976), the tonality is much more oblique. There is constant tonal reference, but Ornstein seldom alights squarely in a clearly defined key. The listener is often oriented towards a tonal center, but there are unexpected deflections and pivotings that open new horizons.