An die Musik: The Painter's Music, the Musician's Art

Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Russell Platt wrote in the New Yorker: "The string trio … was the Marlon Brando of the Classical era: it coulda been a contender. But Joseph Haydn’s invention of the string quartet proved to be an irresistible force. … Still, a cluster of new recordings prove the genre’s durability. … Schubert’s delightful, one-movement String Trio in B-Flat Major lies at the heart of 'The Painter’s Music, the Musician’s Art' (Newport Classic), an album that also includes recordings of piano quartets by Beethoven and Mozart. In 1981, Helen Frankenthaler made her friend Constance Emmerich, the pianist of the longtime New York ensemble An die Musik, a collage that was inspired by one of its performances. Emmerich, seeking a way to celebrate her group’s tenth anniversary, asked three more painter friends — Kenneth Noland, David Hockney, and Robert Motherwell — to create posters inspired by the composers they loved. Now the recordings have finally been brought to CD: the art works, which are beautifully reproduced in the liner notes, are a touching complement to the group’s warm, attentive, and convivial performances" ("Classical Notes," 5/14/07).