Brought up in Christchurch,
Dorset of mixed Austrian/Jewish descent,
David Arditti is largely self-taught
as a composer although he acknowledges
the advice of David Matthews and Anthony
Payne during the course of his development.
Initially studying for a career in science,
music gradually took over and his catalogue
of works now includes a number of song
cycles and substantial choral pieces,
several works for orchestra and several
chamber works.
This disc has been
self-produced by the composer from recordings
of the premieres of both works, the
Second Quartet as recently as
October 2003.
For just a fleeting
moment at the very opening of the Quartet
No. 1 in D minor the oscillating
quavers seem to point to the music of
Philip Glass, but any such comparison
is immediately dispelled in dramatic
fashion as the music suddenly leaps
back one hundred and fifty years. What
Arditti has produced here are pretty
much fully formed classical quartets,
stylistically not a million miles away
from Dvořák
and almost pastiche but for the fact
that there is a genuine sense of personal
sincerity and honesty in the way the
composer communicates. Put another way,
Arditti writes as though the twentieth
century had simply failed to arrive.
The Quartet No.
1 proceeds via a subdued opening
movement marked Andante, a brief
yet contrasting Largo and an
initially sombre Adagio, the
melody of which is a close relation
to the principal theme of the first
movement. This soon transforms into
a livelier dance-like central section.
The Moderato-Allegro vivace finale
builds to a conclusion of relative light
heartedness.
The Second Quartet
in G minor is immediately more arresting
for the quality of the playing. The
Bingham Quartet is considerably superior
to Ludamus in their performance although
they do also benefit from a recording
that is not as badly affected by extraneous
noise. The composer also seems to have
matured in that his melodic writing
has acquired a greater sense of confidence.
The moderato second movement
in particular shows moments of touching
charm. The basic elements however are
the same, four classically styled movements,
this time culminating in a set of "Variations
on an Invented Folk-song"; very
much in the style of the air-varié
and possibly with faint reminiscences
of Scottish folk song. The result is
effective and demonstrates considerable
imagination in the treatment of the
theme.
Making acquaintance
with these quartets is a somewhat surreal
listening experience and depending on
your stance I suspect that the music
will either be loved or hated with little
room for indifference in the middle.
Arditti is clearly resolute and unashamed
in his compositional path however and
has to be applauded for writing what
I believe comes very much from the heart.
The melodies are warm and in some cases
undeniably attractive but ultimately
it is difficult to imagine that his
extreme retro-conservatism will stand
the test of time or continued inspiration
without the exploration of broader stylistic
territory.
Christopher Thomas
Ludamus (1); Bingham Quartet (2) 
