As performed by Queen-Have you ever played Queen with your string quartet? Now you can treat the audience to music from this iconic band.

String Quartet No.4 was written for the Camilli Quartet who gave the first performance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London April 1995. It is dedicated to the memory of Nyman's composition teacher Alan Bush.This quartet is anarrative made up of a chain of twelve complete but often cross-related movements each quite simple in design. For instance the Scottish melody first heard in the second half of I is hinted at in the 2nd violin/viola in thesecond fast section of II and is directly quoted again during III and XII. The theme of the fast section of IV is taken up again in VIII; IX reverts to the mood of the opening of I while the rising scale/syncopated themes of II IX and the bass of X and XII are related. X also reintroduces the slow harmonics theme from VII. XII is (apparently) cast in the form of a baroque French rondeau. The main theme of VI was plucked out of the Quartet and used inmy score for Christopher Hampton’s film Carrington. Duration 40 minutes. A set of parts is available for sale.

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.

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. Instrumental parts are available on sale.Quoting composer: In thesummer of 1989 I composed 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 whichdevastated Armenia the previous 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 Ruinsinto 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 Romanianrevolution on television during the 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 new intervallic shapes though the demands of the completely performed harmonic structure.

Par GRIME HELEN. Commissioned by the Edinburgh Quartet with financial support from Creative Scotland, PRS for Music Foundation, Britten-Pears Foundation, RVW Trust and Hope Scott Trust. First performed on 21st May 2014 by the Edinburgh Quartet, at Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland.Commissioned by the Edinburgh Quartet with financial support from Creative Scotland, PRS for Music Foundation, Britten-Pears Foundation, RVW Trust and Hope Scott Trust. First performed on 21st May 2014 by the Edinburgh Quartet, at Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland. / Musique contemporaine / Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes