Noah Max: String Quartets
String Quartets: No. 1, The Man Who Planted Trees, Op. 25; No. 2, Op. 37; No. 3, Op. 41; No. 4, Op. 45

Sir Michael Morpurgo, narrator
The Tippett Quartet: John Mills and Jeremy Isaac, violins
Lydia Lowndes-Northcott, viola, Božidar Vukotić, cello
Toccata Classics TOCC 0749
https://toccataclassics.com/

This compelling new release showcases the remarkable compositional talents of Noah Max, featuring four string quartets performed with exceptional skill by The Tippett Quartet. Max, described by The Sunday Times as "a fizzing creative fuse," delivers works that are inventive, intense, and vividly expressive.

The album opens with Quartet No. 1, a musical setting of Jean Giono's beloved story The Man Who Planted Trees, narrated by Sir Michael Morpurgo. The Tippett Quartet creates a rich, textural soundscape that transports listeners alongside a weary traveller in this allegorical tale about Elzéard Bouffier's selfless restoration of a desolate French valley. Max employs pizzicato and thoughtful harmonic structures to sensitively portray the drama, while the quartet's articulate phrasing and dynamics enhance the profound environmental message.

The remaining three quartets are equally impressive, though distinctly different in character. As Max himself notes, "Each one of these quartets is different from the others. Some require a lyrical mode of expression, and some are much more abrasive and rhythmically complex."

Quartets No. 3 and 4 are single-movement works that embody powerful emotional themes. The third evokes a mother's grief for her lost child through micropolyphony and complex metric shifts, creating a sound world of profound mournfulness. Quartet No. 4 takes inspiration from John Boyne's The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, opening with a rich chord before developing into a frenetic soundscape that confronts the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau. The agitated rhythms eventually subside, releasing listeners from the intensity of this powerful narrative.

The second quartet, which closes the program, explores contrasting states of mind through passionate and absorbing musical language. While the first quartet combined words and music, this piece allows purely instrumental expression to communicate where "words so often fail," as Max explains.

Throughout the album, Max demonstrates a remarkable ability to convey meaning through varied string techniques, creating emotional tension through staccato passages and shifting timbres that invite reflection after each piece concludes. The program notes provide valuable context for understanding the narrative resonance behind each composition.