The great composer Gloria Coates died in Germany two months ago and we've lost another giant of contemporary classical music, whose work is deceptively simply, compelling and powerful. An enthusiast of glissando, the sliding between two notes up or down a scale, as well as a sparse though dramatic use of tone clusters and overtones, Coates created a large set of symphonies, as well as many smaller ensemble pieces that stretches time and draws you into sound worlds that are distinctive and highly immersive.
Beautifully performed by the Kreutzer Quartet with Roderick Chadwick on the piano for the lyric suite, this Naxos release features the two-movement ninth string quartet, spanning 25 minutes and rich with contemplation and evocative in its emotional depth. Following is the 13-minute violin solo sonata in four short movements, which also maintains a deliberate pace and weight of the simple yet intense dissonance. Lastly, there is the 25-minute lyric suite, in which piano provides a dramatic change in texture and melodic expression that both contrast and complement the woodwind instruments.
A great American composer who spent more than a half-century in Berlin, Coates built an impressive canon of diverse works, though best known for her 15 symphonies, that set her apart as a master of economy and emotive expression. She left an amazing musical legacy, which, hopefully, will be more recognized as time goes on.
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