String Quartet (P/ST) -
difficult
SKU:
HL.49033269
2nd
string quartet.
Composed by Joerg
Widmann. This edition:
Saddle stitching. Sheet
music. Edition Schott.
Score and Parts. Composed
2003/2006. 32 pages.
Duration 16'. Schott
Music #ED9748. Published
by Schott Music
(HL.49033269).
ISBN
9790001136853. UPC:
884088567088.
9.0x12.0x0.092
inches.
My 2nd
string quartet is one
single slow movement. The
piece does not directly
reflect Joseph Haydn's
Seven Last Words but I
would not have been able
to write it without
knowing that work. The
movements in Haydn's
quartets (except the
final earthquake) are
slow movements of
shocking forcefulness.
What makes the work even
more unsettling for me is
the relaxed and cheerful
acceptance of death (the
'smile' of the A major
pizzicato thirds!). When
I made myself familiar
with the subject matter
of crucifixion I
discovered that terms
like 'walking' and 'the
last walk' were most
important to me. My piece
starts at the final stage
of this experience. It
contains a number of lost
sounds, phrases of
futility which come from
nowhere and lead to
nowhere. The horrifying
rubbing and sanding of
skin and wood become the
'theme' of the piece
which is combined with
tonal, choral-like
melodies. I am interested
in how to make noises no
longer symbolize
desolation and tonal
phrases no longer
represent confidence.-
Jorg Widmann.