Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCR761
Release Date: 1997-01-01
Brentano String Quartet: (Mark Steinberg, violin; Serena Canin, violin; Misha Amory, viola; Michael Kannen, cello); Marija Stroke, piano
Manic-depressive personalities and Doppelgänger syndromes are a fascination of current musicology. In this bicentennial year of Schubert’s birth, academics vigorously debate whether Schubert’s major-minor, hyper-hypo music can be seen as evidence of a clinical condition. Recently uncovered medical records shed new light on that other allegedly manic- depressive composer, Robert Schumann, whose celebrated imaginary angels, devils, and hyenas (not to mention Florestan and Eusebius) practically define the romantic’s view of madness. The tendency to discover split psyches portrayed in string quartets and piano quintets is all the rage these days. It behooves us composers to defend ourselves.
While I am not manic-depressive (I don’t even have lower- back pain), I do find that my music tends to fall into two categories that might be perceived by future musicologists with a melo-medical worldview an indicative of Doppelgängerism. Plainly put, some of my music is darkly obsessive, poetic, and dramatic, while the rest of it is comical, slippery and entertaining.
This is a recording of some of the darkly obsessive, poetic, and dramatic music—and what else would you reasonably expect from CRI, a rare breed of record label devoted to the true inner lives of American composers? — Bruce Adolphe, 1997
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Manic-depressive personalities and Doppelgänger syndromes are a fascination of current musicology. In this bicentennial year of Schubert’s birth, academics vigorously debate whether Schubert’s major-minor, hyper-hypo music can be seen as evidence of a clinical condition. Recently uncovered medical records shed new light on that other allegedly manic- depressive composer, Robert Schumann, whose celebrated imaginary angels, devils, and hyenas (not to mention Florestan and Eusebius) practically define the romantic’s view of madness. The tendency to discover split psyches portrayed in string quartets and piano quintets is all the rage these days. It behooves us composers to defend ourselves.
While I am not manic-depressive (I don’t even have lower- back pain), I do find that my music tends to fall into two categories that might be perceived by future musicologists with a melo-medical worldview an indicative of Doppelgängerism. Plainly put, some of my music is darkly obsessive, poetic, and dramatic, while the rest of it is comical, slippery and entertaining.
This is a recording of some of the darkly obsessive, poetic, and dramatic music—and what else would you reasonably expect from CRI, a rare breed of record label devoted to the true inner lives of American composers? — Bruce Adolphe, 1997
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Bruce Adolphe: Turning, Returning
| MP3/320 | $9.99 | |
| FLAC | $9.99 | |
| WAV | $9.99 | |
| CD-R | $9.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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String Quartet No. 2 "Turning, Returning": I. At Night
Bruce Adolphe
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String Quartet No. 2 "Turning, Returning": II. From My Childhood
Bruce Adolphe
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String Quartet No. 2 "Turning, Returning": III. Fantasia
Bruce Adolphe
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String Quartet No. 2 "Turning, Returning": IV. At Night II
Bruce Adolphe
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In Memories of...
Bruce Adolphe
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String Quartet No. 1, "By a Grace of Sense Surrounded"
Bruce Adolphe
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And All Is Always Now
Bruce Adolphe
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