Pour Quator á Cordes-Born in 1947 Laurent Duvillier-Wable trained under pianist Suzanne Joly and studied composition with Michel Puig. The latter a student of Ren? Leibowitz introduced him to the mysteries of Sch?nberg and Webern's twelve-note composition. To create a coherent œuvre Duvillier-Wable drew on the array of possibilities offered by chamber music in his series of six Sonatas composed between 1992 and 2007. Sonata IV For String Quartet was written in 1994 the year his father – painter Ren? Duvillier a friend of Charles Estienne and Andr? Breton – fell gravely ill. Divided into four movements thecomposition contains two beautifully expressive musical references: the Lamento religioso refers to Bach's Passion according to Saint Matthew by quoting the choral 'Was ist die Ursache aller solcher Plagen' (No.19: What is the cause of all this suffering?) when Jesus distressed by his imminent agony asks his disciples to watch over him. The Agitato final borrows the inexorable 'Must it be? It must!' theme from Beethoven's Quartet No.16 in F that crowns this poignant work.

Josef Suk played second violin in the Bohemian String Quartet. Since 1914 the ensemble was obliged to perform the Austrian national anthem at the opening of every concert.Suk decided to supplement this obligatory piece with a work inspired by the ancient sacred Bohemian 'St. Wenceslas? hymn. The hymn's message - a plea for the well-being of the Czech people, directed at their patron saint - was immediately understood by the audience.The Bohemian String Quartet performed this single-movement Meditation for the first time on 27 September 1914 - the premiere of the version for string orchestra followed on 22 November 1914, played by the Czech Philharmonic. That same year the piece was published by Fr. A. Urbánek together with arrangements for piano and organ.This first Urtext edition, prepared by the Suk scholar Zdenek Nouza, is published in two scorings, one for string quartet (BA 9583 - study score TP 583) and another for string orchestra (BA 9584).The orchestral version differs in some details and has an added part for double bass. - First Urtext edition / Quatuor A Cordes

Par LEVINAS MICHAEL. Réitération - Ce quatuor est conçu en quatre mouvements. Cette répartition ne se réfère pas vraiment à la forme usuelle au 18e et au 19e siècle. Les titres que j'ai donnés aux troisième et quatrième mouvements (première et deuxième réitération) expriment une préoccupation formelle spécifique au travail d'écriture musical que j'aborde en ce moment: établir des liens organiques entre les instants singuliers et successifs du temps musical, liens qui ne se ramèneraient pas à ce que l'on définit couramment par les termes de cellule génératrice ou processus. La notion de réitération/modification (je définis ainsi les 'Diabelli' de Beethoven) permet de concevoir une forme structurée sur la reprise d'un élément mémorisable et structuré dans son évolution rythmique, polyphonique et harmonique: un vrai mantra. Ce n'est ni le thème de la sonate ou celui des 'formes variation'. Il ne faut pas ramener ce mantra à la fonction de thématique génératrice de la sonate, de la variation ou du leitmotiv de la fin du 19e siècle. Comme son nom l'indique, la réitération lui confère un caractère d'incantation quasi magique. Cette différenciation nécessiterait un développement théorique spécifique. Ici, nous décrivons cette réitération dans son rôle structurel. A chaque réitération, ce mantra (comme dirait Stockhausen) sera modifié. Dans ce quatuor, l'élément originaire réitéré sera réintroduit dans les deux derniers mouvements de façon à rendre perceptible à l'oreille les modifications des différentes composantes de l'élément originaire et plus particulièrement les différents possibles d'une trajectoire harmonique partant toujours d'un même point. On trouvera dans ce quatuor certaines caractéristiques de mon écriture récente pour cordes, notamment l'utilisation de sourdines vibratoires dans le premier mouvement, la polyphonie des rebonds d'archets dans le deuxième mouvement, des pizz. guitare dans le troisième mouvement et un contrepoint de vitesses superposées dans le dernier mouvement. Michaël Lévinas / contemporain / Répertoire / 2 Violons, Alto et Violoncelle

Joan Tower's White Water - String Quartet No. 5. Score and parts. White Water is the first of four commissions for Chamber Music Monterey Bay's 'Arc of Life' project. Theartist Bill Viola shared excerpts from his video installation 'Going Forth by Day' — a depiction of life in all its stages — with the four composers who then created compositions inspired by this. 'When I saw [Bill]Viola's work I was quite fascinated with how he used water as an encompassing image which influenced everything I saw about the 'person' inside the water. My piece is not directly associated by what he specifically did but itdoes have a strong connection to the image of water as a powerful basic idea and action. The many glissandos hopefully create a 'fluid' environment that connects the various ideas and registers together while 'white water'somehow implies more rapid 'cascading' types of action which occur throughout the piece' - Joan Tower

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Beethoven completed his String Quartet Op.135 at Wasserdorf Castle in Gneixenhof, where he sought to recuperate with his nephew Karl after the latter?s failed suicide attempt in summer 1826. It stands out among his late quartets owing to the often cheerful, almost pastoral character of its four movements. Since Beethoven?s death it has often been interpreted as an attempt to take wise and positive stock of the mishaps that had befallen him in the preceding years regarding his life situation, family and health. This interpretation is strongly suggested by the final movement, ?Der schwer gefasste Entschluss? (The Difficult Decision), with its motto ?Must it be? It must be! It must be!? The editing of this quartet proved especially complex, for the authentic sources were reworked at various stages by the composer. By judiciously assessing them, editor Jonathan Del Mar has managed to clarify many anomalies found in previous editions. - Beethoven?s final string quartet with many new readings - Introduction by Misha Donat (Eng/Ger), editor?s foreword by Jonathan Del Mar (Eng/Ger) and a scrupulous, separately published Critical Commentary (Eng) / Date parution : 2022-07-30/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes