Elaborate plot tangles, disguises and near suicide are leavened by energetic string writing and a few explosive showpiece arias.
So much more could have been done with balances within the group, and there were times when the energetic string playing became strident, and oboe intonation went awry.
The lure for listeners who normally attend for the rock offerings was the American premiere of "Popcorn Superhet Receiver" (2005), a gritty, energetic string orchestra work by Jonny Greenwood, the lead guitarist of Radiohead.
Du Yun, a Chinese composer living in the United States, writes more exuberantly in "Vicissitudes No. 3" (2003), a work of wildly energetic, scampering string, woodwind and brass lines and sparkling percussion timbres.
Following remarks by Aaron P. Dworkin, Sphinx's founder and president, and an introductory video, the program concluded with Michael Abels's energetic arrangement for string quartet and string orchestra of his "Delights and Dances," which incorporates jazz, blues, bluegrass and Latin dance elements.
PACIFICA QUARTET The joyful and energetic young American string quartet, known for its exciting performances of the music of Elliott Carter, also maintains an interest in the classics.
The West had the Berlin Philharmonic, the film festival, the German Opera (the successor to the Municipal Opera) and an energetic theater life strung along the Kurfürstendamm.
What that means, in short, is fewer horns, more strings, less energetic clutter, and more emphasis on Merritt's beautiful vocals and moving, if occasionally sentimental, songwriting.
On her new album, "See You On the Moon," Merritt is produced by Tucker Martine, who shifts her sound slightly toward alternative pop; Ben Greenman says that "the difference is immediately apparent," with "fewer horns, more strings, less energetic clutter, and more emphasis on Merritt's beautiful vocals and moving, if occasionally sentimental, songwriting".
The Aviv String Quartet, an energetic Israeli ensemble founded a decade ago, opened the Schneider Concerts series at the New School on Sunday afternoon.
JERUSALEM STRING QUARTET The energetic young group comes to the 92nd Street Y to offer works by Beethoven, Tzvi Avni, and Brahms (the Clarinet Quintet, with the excellent Alexander Fiterstein).
