Thanks to Peter Herwitz for his appraisal of Milhaud's string quartets.

>I'm curious how others feel about these to me sublime works and Milhaud in
>general.  I still think he is underrated.

I agree with you.  I've heard only three of the quartets (#12, #14, #15,
the last two playable as an octet), and I still find #14 and #15 rough
going.  But I really like #12 -- fresh and lyrical.

Part of the problem with Milhaud's critical standing is that he wrote
so much.  Some pieces are likely better than others.  After all, it took
Martinu -- another composer with a prodigious catalogue -- a very long time
to reach his present eminence.  I like to think that it's merely taking
time to wade through the work.

Steve Schwartz