10 Fugues For String Quartet Vol. 2-The idea for these arrangements came to me whilst listening to the Hagen Quartet's beautiful recording of the fugues that form part of Haydn's 'Sun Quartets' Op. 20. The spirit and influence of J.S. Bach in particular his Well Tempered Clavier Book II courses through these three miraculous Haydn fugues. Like the viol consort the string quartet suits this kind of composition (the fugue) with all four instruments sufficiently similar in character to each other to match the extraordinary unity and economy of the counterpoint. A string quartet playing Bach fugues is a good example of a harmonious relationship between form andcontent: just as there is a unifying principle behind the construction of the four string instruments so there is (usually) a single theme or subject that unifies the construction of a four-part fugue. Thus the form enacts the content telling you something about the text and message within. Apart from Haydn's and a handful of other composers' wondrous creations there's little fugal writing for string quartet at least in comparison with the abundance of other forms. This was another reason to make these arrangements. The quartet offers a melodic independence impossible to achieve on a single instrument. And I believe the technical and interpretative challenges posed by this repertoire – lightness of sound and rhythmic fluidity for example - will be very valuable to quartets seeking the holy grail: a unified sound. Perhaps the simplest and most compelling reason for this work is that I just love this music more than I can say. These dazzling pieces mostly fast bright and in major keys show Bach at his most playful funny and mischievous composing for an instrument rarely associated with these qualities. And so I'm very happy to offer string quartets these little know fugues written by my favourite composer - a violinist and violist himself but above all a master

...called dusk II for string quartet draws its inspiration from a line in Samuel Beckett's short story Lessness: 'Figment dawn dispeller of figments and the other called dusk'.The work is a kind of double Chaconne, each part of which contains 26 chords based on specific permutations of fundamental notes and their harmonics. Each of the parts pass through alternating, harmonically contrasted planes, becoming entwined in the manner of a chimera through their rhythmic structure and dynamics. This intermittently produces a sort of 'inner voice' which runs through all four instruments. The fundamental notes and harmonics separate during the progress of the composition, becoming independent and then disintegrating. The consonant harmony resulting from the amalgamation of the two planes ultimately collapses into a rigid motor-like linearity. Detlev Müller-Siemens / Quatuor A Cordes

String Quartet No.3 was written for and first performed by the Balanescu Quartet February 1990 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London. Duration 16 minutes. A score is available on sale..Quoting composer: In the summer of 1989 Icomposed a choral work Out of the Ruins for Agnieszka Piotrowska’s BBC2 documentary which dealt with the physical and emotional responses of some inhabitants of Leninakhan to the earthquake which devastated Armenia theprevious December. When he heard the recording of the work that I made with the Holy Echmiadzin Chorus under the fervent conducting of Khoren Meykhanejian Alex Balanescu suggested turning Out of the Ruins into a string quartet. There seemed no reason or opportunity to do this until I felt the need to add to the intensity of my experiences in Armenia the no less profound experience of witnessing the images of the Romanian revolution on television duringthe later part of December 1989.The compositional procedure was as follows: to take Out of the Ruins as a template on which the Romanian vocal or instrumental music would be superimposed quite often stretched into newintervallic shapes though the demands of the completely performed harmonic structure.

Simon Holt's 3rd Quartet is the third of six pieces which make up a cycle with the overall title 'Terrain'. Lasting around 23 minutes this wonderful work is arranged for String Quartet and wasco-commissioned by The Radcliffe Trust NMC Recordings Internationales Musikfestival Heidelberger Fruhling and Wigmore Hall. The premiere was performed on 19th January 2015. This is the set of parts for 2 Violins Viola andCello. The six different compositions of which 3rd Quartet is the third are for different combinations of stringed instruments featuring Piano in the second piece. The music thatcomprises 3rd Quartet is drawn from the other parts of the cycle as a whole yet in a reverse order. In this way the piece develops what has come before foreshadows what's to come all the while encompassingthe entire cycle in a single piece.

8 Popular Pieces-A wonderful collection of romantic pieces arranged for intermediate string quartet in which every instrument is given an opportunity to demand attention.The Schott String Quartet SeriesWith the first books in the series focusing on baroque classical and romantic styles The Schott String Quartet Series has expanded to cover music ranging from traditional pieces through to Eastern-influenced works. Aside from 'Indian Summer' which features original compositions each book contains original arrangements of well known themes which have often never been arranged for string quartet before. An important characteristic of these arrangements is that they allow all four instrumentsto demand the attention throughout the music. The pieces are suitable for amateur musicians or school students and are ideal for public performance.