Composer Elliott Carter recently turned 100, and his centenary was only politely noticed in the U.S. classical music world. Could it be that the country’s oldest living composer is still musically misunderstood? Sure, Carter has an aloof and cerebral style, and his music is as difficult for musicians to play as it is for the public to digest. But wasn’t the same said about Beethoven’s late quartets when they first appeared?

The quartets that Carter wrote in the 1950s are aging like fine wine. And on this CD, the Illinois-based Pacifica Quartet is more than happy to play sommelier. That’s because this quartet is in the midst of recording all of Carter’s quartets for Naxos. And on this disc, they distinguish themselves with a robust and painterly sound well suited to Carter’s music.

On the rhythmically bracing Quartet No. 1, these musicians play as if they’ve broken into Carter’s musical brain. And what is found inside is an array of jaggedly cascading notes and starkly plucked pizzicatos. The four-movement, 40-minute work proceeds without stopping, save for two pauses. The effect is an unconventional musical dialogue between stringed instruments. By the end, the music calms down, and the lone violin line that remains feels like some kind of musical homecoming.

The Quartet No. 5 differs vastly from the first. It’s more playful and less cerebral. The 12 short movements of the Fifth are structured with an episodic musical approach. Five short “Interludes” are inter-woven with a series of minute-long musical works that are best described as vivid character sketches. The common denominator with all the movements is their originality and unapologetic musical audacity.