Donald Erb is the composer of some of the most colorful and imaginative music to come out of America in the late 20th century. The Ohio native, head of the Cleveland Institute of Music composition department until his retirement in 1996, has never been beholden to any one style or school, following instead a strong native instinct for timbre and texture which has led him to reinforce the orchestra with electronics and unusual instruments such as harmonicas or tuned wine glasses. The String Quartet No. 3 recalls Bartok in its wealth of bowing effects, clusters and glissandi, as well as its structural use of small motivic cells, finally revealing at its heart an unexpected quotation of the Bible school hymn 'Jesus Loves Me,' while the title track's sound world is unique to Jeffrey Krieger's electronic cello, whose vocabulary is extended with dizzying cascades of echo and cavernous reverb.

Search on Amazon

Donald Erb is the composer of some of the most colorful and imaginative music to come out of America in the late 20th century. The Ohio native, head of the Cleveland Institute of Music composition department until his retirement in 1996, has never been beholden to any one style or school, following instead a strong native instinct for timbre and texture which has led him to reinforce the orchestra with electronics and unusual instruments such as harmonicas or tuned wine glasses. The String Quartet No. 3 recalls Bartok in its wealth of bowing effects, clusters and glissandi, as well as its structural use of small motivic cells, finally revealing at its heart an unexpected quotation of the Bible school hymn 'Jesus Loves Me,' while the title track's sound world is unique to Jeffrey Krieger's electronic cello, whose vocabulary is extended with dizzying cascades of echo and cavernous reverb.