Pacifica Quartet - Elliott Carter: String Quartets Nos. 2, 3 & 4 (2008)

Like American comedian W.C. Fields, American composer Elliott Carter never believed in giving the listener an even break. In the three string quartets recorded here, Carter used all the tools at his command -- a virtuoso technique, an adroit intellect, and an unsurpassed ability to write ruthlessly independent counterpoint -- to challenge and confound the unsuspecting listener. As played here with impressive panache by the Pacifica Quartet, Carter's subtly structured Second, fearsomely complex Third, and harmonically stringent Fourth quartets sound forth in all their uncompromising magnificence. For listeners not prepared to concentrate, Carter's music may sound overly cerebral at best and pointlessly cacophonous at worst. But for listeners prepared to pay it the attention it demands, Carter's music is bracingly intellectual, rhythmically exciting, and, in the right frame of mind, thoroughly engaging. There have been other excellent recordings of Carter's quartets before, but the Pacifica Quartet's is as persuasively argued, as clearly articulated, and as emotionally expressive as the best and Naxos' digital sound is in no way inferior to the full-priced labels.