String Quartet No. 2

String Quartet No. 2

String Quartet No. 2
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DVD Cover Information

Composer: Morton Feldman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Classical, NTSC
DVD Release Date: 2002-11-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: MODE

Movie Reviews of String Quartet No. 2

Movie Review: Among the Greatest of String Quartets
Summary: 5 Stars

I love string quartets. When I saw an advertisement for Feldman's first string quartet at a very reasonable price, I decided to order it. After only a few hearings, I was convinced that it was a masterpiece; and that if Feldman had written other works of the same quality, he was truly a great composer. I very quickly ordered Piano and String Quartet, Crippled Symmetry, For Samuel Beckett, and For Bunita Marcus. After listening to these compositions, I was convinced that he was indeed a great composer. It was only then that I decided to risk the money to buy the DVD of the String Quartet No. 2. In order to play the DVD I also had to buy a DVD player to hook up to my stereo system. In short, it cost me more than $100.00 to have this quartet and play it. Had I spent double the money, I would still consider it a bargain!

This is one of the few quartets that I would place beside Haydn's last eight and Beethoven's last five quartets. Superficially, it resembles minimalist music by Philip Glass and Steve Reich, but to my ears it has much more variation and subtlety. Feldman also gets a larger variety of sounds out of the four stringed instruments than I have heard in any other string quartet. For example: about four minutes into the quartet, there is a passage that sounds as if someone is tapping tuned bells with a felt mallet. How he manages to get that sound I don't know, but it is very beautiful and very effective. Though most of the quartet is played in the pianissimo range, there are also several powerful fortissimo passages. The main challenge in listening to this quartet is finding the six hours to listen to it all the way through. I have only been able to hear it once that way. Fortunately the DVD is divided into several sections, twenty- eight in all. If I am really busy, I might listen to it only an hour a day. To do this I divide it up as follows: sections 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-24, and 25-28. The most satisfactory way I have found to listen to it so far has been to divide it into two three hour listening periods: sections 1-14 and 15-28. This gives it a greater sense of continuity and allows me to concentrate more. The one time I was able to listen to it in its entirety, I found myself having to get up and do other things while it was playing. I hope to listen to it again in one sitting when I can avoid distractions.

Since I have purchased the quartet, I have listened to it over and over. For me it is addictive. Despite its huge length and the concentration demanded to benefit from it, I never tire of it. Now that I have it, I can't imagine being without it. I would recommend this quartet to anyone who loves minimalist music, the late Beethoven quartets, quartets by Webern, Schoenberg, Elliot Carter, or to anyone who wants a life changing experience.

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