John Pickard: Chamber Music Volume 2

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[Picker's] quartet writing eschews nearly all special effects in order to concentrate on the harmonic and polyphonic essence of his discourse. As in other recent releases, his powers of passionate... — BBC Music Magazine, February 2014, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 4th Nov 2013
Catalogue No: TOCC0197
Label: Toccata Classics
Length: 64 minutes

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Pickard: String Quartet No. 1

Work length37:57

$11.00

$14.30

Brodowski Quartet

Quarter Note = 48 -

Track length3:46

$1.00

$1.30

Unison Melody I -

Track length1:23

$1.00

$1.30

Prelude -

Track length2:19

$1.00

$1.30

Fugue I -

Track length4:09

$1.00

$1.30

Fugue II -

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.30

Unison Melody II -

Track length4:31

$1.00

$1.30

Meditation -

Track length3:24

$1.00

$1.30

Prestissimo -

Track length8:41

$2.00

$2.60

Climax -

Track length3:02

$1.00

$1.30

Coda

Track length2:18

$1.00

$1.30

Pickard: String Quartet No. 5

Work length26:03

$5.00

$6.50

Brodowski Quartet

I. Inquieto

Track length6:21

$1.00

$1.30

II. Desolato

Track length4:39

$1.00

$1.30

III. Prestissimo e leggiero

Track length3:20

$1.00

$1.30

IV. Drammatico

Track length5:18

$1.00

$1.30

V. Molto energico

Track length6:25

$1.00

$1.30

About
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About

Reviews of music by the English composer John Pickard (b. 1963) have stated that ‘he has the technique and the temperament to emerge as one of the great symphonists of the 21st century’, even that ‘his place among the greats is secure’.

This second Toccata Classics disc of his chamber music – released to mark his 50th birthday – presents both his earliest and his most recent string quartets, No. 1 (1991) cast in a vast single paragraph 38 minutes in length and the five-movement No. 5 (2012–13) exploring a dialectic of conflict and resolution.

Both works are receiving their first recordings here.

This CD is released to mark John Pickard’s 50th birthday.

Paul Mealor of Military Wives fame on TV had John Pickard as his first teacher and writes in the booklet in this series: ‘on this disc there is music of introspection, solemnity, profundity and, above all, honesty that transcends styles and mere description. Melody, harmony, structure and drama are all here, but most of all, beauty and love of the sensuality of sound shine through’.

This is the the first recording of the Brodowski Quartet for Toccata Classics; further projects are under discussion.

Reviews

February 2014

[Picker's] quartet writing eschews nearly all special effects in order to concentrate on the harmonic and polyphonic essence of his discourse. As in other recent releases, his powers of passionate constructiveness never fail to impress. The Brodowski Quartet play magnificently, as if their lives depended on it.

May 2014

Above all, Pickard's masterly writing evinces an entrancing wholeness, keen proportion and profoundly human spirit that nourish both head and heart...The Brodowski Quartet lend this enormously rewarding repertoire thrillingly persuasive, spellbindingly eloquent advocacy...Do try and hear this wholly admirable coupling.

11th February 2014

Pickard’s Quartet is contrapuntally powerful and his harmonic palette wide...Pickard’s quartets are played with tremendous insight and rhythmic charge. The music’s many challenges are characterised with great insight...Admirers of Pickard, and of the contemporary string quartet, should acquire this disc without delay.

5th December 2013

Though the language is utterly different – Pickard's writing always retains a firm grip on tonality – the scale and ambition of the music of the First brings Elliott Carter's First Quartet to mind...I'm less convinced by the Fifth, which seems more conventional in every respect, but the First, superbly played by the Brodowski Quartet, is very well worth investigating.

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