THE NATION: Caroline Shaw and the Shock of the New
THE NATION: Caroline Shaw and the Shock of the New
BY DAVID HAJDU
“The music is highly original and deeply sophisticated, but also a great pleasure to experience. As a form, the string quartet is one defined by the imperatives of musical equilibrium. The four instruments need to support and complement one another, working both independently and jointly in careful balance. On Orange, Caroline Shaw’s music achieves all that and something additional: an equilibrium of values. The work is rigorous, adventurous, and emotive—again, in careful balance. Two and a half centuries after the string quartet was developed, Caroline Shaw has made the form feel new again.”