Christine Labrouche, in a sensitively written post, writes, of Robert
Simpson's string quartets,

>Now I want to hear them all.

Me too- er I also- er moi aussi(??).  In fact, it's become a bit
of a mission for me to hear some of Simpson's string quartets live.
Unfortunately, such performances are rare on this side of the Pond (if
anyone hears of such performances on the east coast of the US, I'd
appreciate your posting it on the List).  Perhaps one day I can journey
to London to hear them (are they performed with any regularity there?).

I like to think I've grown in my appreciation of Simpson since the
thread two years ago.  I've even- amazingly enough- started to appreciate
Simpson's symphonic output. Christine omitted any reference to my favorite
Simpson quartet: No. 10, which bears the subtitle "For Peace".  Simpson,
a lifelong pacifist- albeit a forthright secular humanist- managed to
evoke an image of what a peaceful consciousness could be, and I find
listening to the quartet to be one of my preferred methods of restoring
a disturbed equilibrium.

Christine's comments have stirred me to want to make an effort to listen
to the 8th quartet more- it's one to which I have not gravitated.  Musical
renditions of buzzing insects- Simpson also did that in his enormous 9th
quartet- just don't whet my interest.

I never find Simpson to be an "easy listen". I think Simpson cared not
a tuppence for being "pretty", and so probably relegated himself to the
category of composers who would largely be ignored. If I don't pay close
attention to the music, there is no benefit to playing a recording,
whereas I can enjoy Schubert even if I am preoccupied with something
else.  He claimed that music was about "form", yet in no way did that
preclude strong feeling.  But take the time to listen to him, and I
cannot imagine that people on this List would not find him worth the
trouble.

Simpson is one of the rare "difficult" composers whose music I would go
out of my way to listen to.  Perhaps another way of looking at that is
to say Simpson is as difficult as I can appreciate at this time, so
perhaps there is hope for Ligeti and Wuorinen for me yet.

P.S. Occasionally you can get a good deal on Simpson's music on ebay.

Larry