Bruce WOLOSOFF (b. 1955)
Songs without Words (18 Divertimenti for String Quartet) (2008)
No.1. The River [3:13]
No.2. Circle Dance [3:16]
No.3. Blues for Stravinsky [2:54]
No.4. Wound Up! [2:46]
No.5. Dancing on my Grave [1:53]
No.6. Reverence [4:14]
No.7. The Sidewalk Strut [2:30]
No.8. The Letter [3:02]
No.9. Skunk [3:15]
No.10. Young Love [4:37]
No.11. Creepalicious [2:05]
No.12. After Hours [3:10]
No.13. Cat Scratch Fever [2:58]
No.14. Getting Down [3:33]
No.15. Fire and Ice [3:09]
No.16. Tough Decisions [3:07]
No.17. Survivor’s Truth [3:19]
No.18. The Last Kiss [3:15]
Carpe Diem String Quartet (Charles Wetherbee (violin); John Ewing (violin);
Korine Fujiwara (viola); Diego Fainguersch (cello))
rec. October 2008, First Community Church, Grandview, Ohio, USA.
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559663 [56:21] 
This is allegedly the first foray of American classical composer Bruce Wolosoff
into the realm of popular music. This raid was really successful – so I wonder
whether more will follow. The idea behind the project was not really revolutionary:
Charles Wetherbee, the first violin of the Carpe Diem Quartet, approached
Wolosoff and asked him to write for them some rock- and jazz-based music.
He also wanted Wolosoff to do it while still speaking in his own voice as
composer. The solution Wolosoff found is definitely ingenious. As the composer
tells us in the liner-notes, he based his pieces on the riffs and improvisations
that he recorded while listening to the favorite songs of the Carpe Diem members.
The “founding” songs themselves are unrecognizable in the result but you can
make out the spirit and the style.
This spirit and style is, for the most part, very American, apparently reflecting
the sources of Wolosoff’s inspiration. There are many flavors – from Gershwin,
to rowdy Texan hoopla, to bluegrass, to pop rock. There are slowly swaying
Celtic pastorals, round dances with the fiddle, energetic blues with a hard
rhythmic bounce, wild hoedowns, nervous pizzicati and liquid ballads. Late
Beethoven and Stephane Grappelli come to shake hands in Gershwin’s salon.
There is plenty of variation and development and although the character of
each piece is relatively constant, the mood changes between the pieces.
So, full marks for the idea! The realization is not so perfect – but maybe
I should blame my high expectations. From Divertimenti I would expect,
first and foremost, diversity. It is present here, but insufficient to sustain
18 pieces. Listening to 10 of them was great; listening to 14 made me wondering
when the disc would end; and 18 was definitely too much. The last track is
one of the best – fragile and loaded with feeling, it reaches the heart-aching
depths of Piazzolla’s Milongas. I would not recommend listening to
the entire disc in one pass: as with Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, you
should know when to have a break.
The playing of the Carpe Diem is resonant and assured. They perform with intensity
and obvious enthusiasm. The sonic effects are executed perfectly, the pizzicato
is sonorous, and the ensemble very harmonious. At times there is a certain
“sameness of pressure” over long stretches of music, although I don’t know
whether this is the composer’s or performers’ fault. The music is accessible
and melodic, but subtlety is not one of its main features. Each part is more
or less defined in its opening, and there are little surprises along the way.
This disc is really great fun on first listening. I am not sure it wears well
over repetitive listening – maybe yes if you tend to listen “in the background”,
or love such “fusion” projects. I expect, though, that a small selection could
have a big success in the concert-hall. The recording quality is excellent;
the acoustics are clean and realistic.
Oleg Ledeniov
Interesting idea and great fun, though not wearing well over repetitive listening.
see also review by Brian Reinhart