Mario Lavista was born in 1943 in Mexico City and is one of
Mexico's most prominent living composers. Despite this, there
aren't so many CDs including his highly individual music; and
none devoted entirely to the composer. In fact, this is the
first and only CD with Lavista's intriguing and very beautiful
string quartets. It should be snapped up immediately by any
lover of contemporary chamber music. Well-conceived, well-played
and well-presented. A little gem.
Lavista's is an interesting career: he studied both in Mexico
and in Paris and founded the improvisation group, Quanta, at
the age of 27 before being invited to Tokyo to work on indeterminacy
in electronic music there. By the end of the 1970s he had broadened
his focus to Extended Techniques (ET), writing music for traditional
instruments using a variety of unconventional timbral possibilities.
These were often written for, and in close collaboration with,
named, known musicians. Since then, Lavista has established
himself as a leading musicologist in the hemisphere, and a teacher
and writer with a great deal of influence.
If for no other reasons than these, this CD of Lavista's complete
(six, to date) string quartets is to be welcomed; the music
it contains is likely to be listened to with as much pleasure
as it bears critical scrutiny for its originality, rigour and
gentle beauty. Further, this chamber medium typifies for Lavista
some of the same qualities as it does for other Central and
South-American composers such as Carlos Chávez (1899-1978),
Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940) and Manuel Enríquez … not least
the poetry and emotion of an intensely European instrumental
sensibility translated to the new world. But for Lavista the
fascination goes further: the potential for ETs with strings
and the spirituality of the resulting sound - perhaps against
the odds.
The Cuarteto Latinoamericano was formed in 1982; it consists
of the three brothers, violinists Saúl and Arón and cellist
Alvaro Bitrán, with violist Javier Montiel. They have a worldwide
reputation - but, again, sadly more within their sphere than
with a broader audience. Despite their stunning technique and
equally impressive interpretative powers, and despite the fact
that they have slowly but surely worked their way towards the
top of their tree in terms of appreciation and reputation, again,
all too few recordings exist which present to those not already
'in the know' the immense amount of musicality, insight and
at times breathtaking creativity that they have to offer.
This CD certainly ought to put that right. Each quartet on this
very generous CD (almost an hour and a quarter long) is different,
has something new and important to say. The use of ETs is never
gratuitous; sometimes it's hardly noticeable. Yet the range
of sound, colour and mood that Lavista offers is remarkably
wide.
Sometimes, he evokes an atmosphere - night, in the second quartet,
for example. At others he pursues aims related to technique
or form - he stretches and very consciously controls time in
the first; and extrapolates auras and moods from the contrasts
between lyricism and the music's more mechanical pulse in the
fifth. In the third, Lavista celebrates the fact that he and
Arón Bitrán were neighbours. Numbers four and six reflect other
of Lavista's and mediaeval contrapuntal models respectively.
But none of this is even slightly self-conscious or forced.
The playing of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano is accomplished,
free yet tightly directed from start to finish. Indeed, the
quartet was effectively the inspiration, the impetus certainly,
for most of these quartets. The players seem to have the music
in their blood. It would be hard to think of more persuasive
accounts.
The booklet that comes with this CD is informative without feeling
any need to rush, proselytise or over-advocate. That must be
in keeping with what one senses is an aspect of Lavista's confident
and generous personality. To be judged sui generis for
sure, these six works are not only different enough one from
another, but also amazingly creative enough to repay repeated
hearings. As an indication of new directions for the medium,
they make every sense. As beautiful works in their own right,
they are superb.
Mark Sealey
Cuarteto Latinoamericano 
