for String Quartet Full Score. Par HARTKE STEPHEN. THE FIFTH BOOK of the title refers to what Stephen Hartke considers his fifth book of madrigals, only two of which books are actually for voices, with the others being for string instruments. Hartke writes madrigals for string instruments due to their inherent singing quality, but also due to the fluid structural character of the madrigal as a genre that often responds in quite mercurial ways to the emotional unfolding of its text. These five movements are thus abstract madrigals whose larger outlines, shifts in mood, and various internal reminiscences are intended to convey a private, unspoken drama. Commissioned for the Brentano String Quartet by the Frankfurt Burgerstiftung im Holzhausenschlosschen sponsored by the Ernst Max von Grunelius-Stiftung. / Date parution : 2020-04-11/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

10 Fugues For String Quartet Vol. 2. Par BACH JOHANN-SEBASTIAN. 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 and ndash - 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 / Classique / Date parution : 2018-05-04/ Répertoire / Quatuor à Cordes

String Quartets Book IV op. 20-The preface by Christin Heitmann provides illuminating background information. Haydn did not assign the nickname ?Sun Quartets?: it alludes to an edition of the time in which the title page wasdecorated with a rising sun. The Quartets op. 20 are the last series in a group of earlier string quartets but are clearly ahead of their time. The demanding fugues which close three of the six quartets are aparticular structural feature.The study edition HN 9208 complements the parts of the String Quartets op. 20.

Commissioned by the Brentano String Quartet for their Fragments Project in celebration of their 20th Anniversary Season. The work reflects on the first movement of an unfinished quartet by Shostakovich.