Italian Modern Contemporary composer Diego Conti [born 1958] has written at least six string quartets. He must be relatively obscure as I couldn’t find him on Wikipedia, or glean much from Google. Thanks to Kai from earsense on tracking down his nationality for me. I am going to discuss String Quartets Nos. 1 and 6.

The First Quartet, which is quite brief in its three movements, opens with a dissonant chordal thrust. This is quite typical of the composer – most of the movements within his quartets start in a confronting manner, before quickly settling into a more conservative mood. In this piece there is an ever intensifying atonal violin section which flows into a beautiful solo violin melody. This is quickly joined by pizzicato accompaniment and later, some random statements – all the while the violin continues with its haunting melody, as the second violin complements it. There are some sweet harmonies negotiated here, expressing a great feeling of wonder. Now a somewhat aggressive phase is introduced and the violins briefly dash frantically to a conclusion.

Eerie violins sounds announce the next movement, slowly leading into a rhapsodic passage where the whole ensemble is in full voice. The mood subsequently mellows to reveal an expressive, expansive soundscape, before a return to the opening statements, which leads to a quiet ending. I’d have to say that this short movement does not contain much music.

The final movement, marked lento, just happens to be the longest in the work. As usual, there is a dramatic introductory phrase, which is repeated and interspersed with gentle atonal musings. A strongly rhythmic passage ensues before a solo cello statement brings peace to the mood, which turns out to be most alluring. The violins create an ascending series of motifs, with ever-increasing intensity. A pause leads to a hint of the opening and strong harmonised violin lines are very effective, combined with a sparse cello accompaniment. The violins, slightly lamenting, sustain an introspective mood, with sustained notes – the end is abrupt.

The Sixth Quartet is twice as long as the First, but is in one movement. Again, a jagged introductory phrase leads into a quivering of violins that gradually increases in dynamics. A sombre passage begins to unfold, with plenty of space between the sections. A lone violin expresses a sparse line, with some glissandos before the ensemble moves in behind it with probing statements. This feeling is sustained for some time, in a very thoughtful passage. I should note that a lot of this movement is scarcely audible, I remastered the track to gain a better understanding of its many subtle changes. Again the violins present an eerie tone, with slowly developing harmonised, sparse melodies. A change brings about a gentle, but dissonant violin duet that uses microtones to great effect – this is a most mesmeric passage. Now the music is stripped to the bare essentials as both violins evoke string sound effects and slowly move the music forward, in a most measured manner. The effects eventually give way to a more melodic approach, which is very evocative and lamenting, in a most precious, atmospheric feeling. The second half of this piece is a magnificent, abstract soundscape, which continues to a gently fading conclusion.

For me, these are simply marvellous quartets – I’m glad there are six of them –all different but having a shared emotional space. Be prepared to strain your ears, some of the music is recorded very softly.

The review 2-CD set, Diego Conti: String Quartets, performed by Officina Musicale, contains quartets Nos. 1-6 and is available on Amazon US and UK.

This set can be found on Spotify and all six quartets are on YouTube and earsense.

Listenability: Modern, with moments of great emotional depth.