Partita / Continuo / Visions
Carter's Partita--a 1993 commission from Daniel Barenboim and the  Chicago Symphony--is a complex, disjointed work that defies categorization. Its  ideas are expressed in tight concussions (or explosions) of sound, but Carter is  savvy enough to let his statements sink in before moving on to the next cluster.  Berio's Continuo (of 1990) is a more fluid composition, if disjointed in its own  manner. And Takemitsu'sVisions, composed in 1989, is the most colorful  and resonant of the works on this disc, with a stronger emotional core than the  others. All in all, this is some of the best postmodern music available.-- Paul Cook