Arditti String Quartet: Arditti (Works by Beethoven, Nancarrow, Crawford-Seeger, Reynolds, Xenakis)

As Laurie Anderson once put it, "Sit bolt upright on that straight-back chair, button that top button, and get set for some difficult listening." Just what you want for after lunch on Christmas Day.

This CD was actually a Christmas present from my mum and dad, about 20 years ago now, in the days when I phoned in my wishlists instead of just emailing a URL. I remember playing it over the holiday, and my dad coming in from the next room, "What are you listening to now…?" No, it's not Napalm Death, dad, honest. Iy would have been nice to say it was Beethoven, since the Grosse Fugue can be intense at times, but it's more likely that the Xenakis piece would have elicited that reaction.

I admit I listened to this album a couple of days ago, and not today. This morning it was a mix of Thomas the Tank Engine with a bit of Robin Williamson (a gift) and a side of Joanna Newsom (not).

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