Program note

For almost three centuries, the string quartet has exerted an almost irresistible attraction on many composers. Why? Although it lacks the colourful splendour of the orchestra and the soloistic virtuosity of the piano, it is an instrumental combination that is extremely flexible and concise, often tempting composers to write their most authentic works.

Late 2022 I found some old sketches of a work I had never quite finished. Looking at them again, I was confronted with ideas from long ago and had to find a way to rearrange their elements into a new composition. I was reminded of Lee Krasner, who cut up previous drawings by herself and her late husband Jackson Pollock and turned them into new collages. By reconstructing and further developing these sketches, a dialogue with the past is created. Old and new ideas meander together indistinctly, but nevertheless the motivic references that appear clearly or hidden in all six movements create a memory play, making this string quartet a metaphor for the unusually long time it took to complete it. 

This work is dedicated to Walter Zimmermann, whom I have known for over 30 years and who has always been so generous and supportive.

Walter Zimmermann, Geesche Geddert & Ivo van Emmerik in Berlin, 2017. Photo: Nanne Meyer

Sketch for String Quartet

Sketch for the third movement

scored for:

• 2 violins
• viola
• violoncello

Duration:

ca. 25 minutes

First performance:

10 April 2026, Splendor Amsterdam, by

Janos String Quartet:

Laura Torres Morales, violin

Mireia Escobar Ortega, violin

Eider Armendariz Cividian, viola

Julia Misas Santín, violoncello