Arditti Quartet, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Recherche - Mathias Spahlinger: Furioso, Gegen unendlich & Apo do (2007)

Spahlinger isn't known too well in the US and I hope this Kairos release helps amend his stateside obscurity. This record is simply fantastic. The performances are super-accurate and the recording quality is freakishly sublime for a "classical"(ish) release. All four pieces on this record are great compositions, and "Apo do" stands out as one of the most inventive string quartets in recent memory. It's pointillistic, minimalist, atonal and engaging. Spahlinger's string writing evokes a perfect confluence of Webernian sensibilities and Salvatore Sciarrino's attention to silence, but Spahlinger does his own "thing" and honestly isn't comparable to any other composer.