This concert, following a well-established tradition in the programmes of the Quantum Ensemble, allows us to contrast the styles and creative personalities of two pairs of composers whose biographies overlap in space and time. Regarding the first pair, we will enjoy a marvellous, profound work by Benjamin Britten, namely, his String Quartet No 3. The contrast here is established with his compatriot, the English composer Harrison Birtwistle, who belongs to a later generation that broke in a radical fashion with the past. Birtwistle creates with Linoi a very singular work for clarinet, piano, magnetic tape and dancer. The differences are no less pronounced in the case of the two American composers whose pieces we will listen to in the second half of the concert. In spite of their being contemporaries and the premieres of their works close in time, John Cage and Aaron Copland belong to two very distant aesthetic universes. What is shown by the pairing of these four compositions, similar as regards to nationality and time-frame, but provoking very different aesthetic experiences, is that audience members should cultivate an attitude of flexibility and curiosity—one devoid of preconceptions—when attending concerts that showcase the amazing wealth of 20th century music. 

Víctor Durà-Vilà