String Quartet No. 4 (Glass)

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String Quartet No. 4, also known by its other title Buczak, is a string quartet by the American composer Philip Glass. It was commissioned by Geoffrey Hendricks in remembrance of the artist . It was premiered on July 4, 1989 at the Hauser Gallery.[1]

Composition[]

It was commissioned by Geoffrey Hendricks in remembrance of the artist , who succumbed to AIDS in 1987 at the age of 33.[2] It was premiered at a memorial service on the second anniversary of the artist's death on July 4, 1989 at the Hauser Gallery.

Glass wanted his fourth quartet to represent "a musical impression of [Buczak] as a person as well as a tribute to his life's work".[3]

Structure[]

This composition consists of three movements and takes approximately 23 minutes to perform. The movements are listed as follows:

  1. — (untitled)
  2. — (untitled)
  3. — (untitled)

This quartet touches on the quartet heritage of Franz Schubert and also Antonín Dvořák.[4] The first movement begins with unison and then develops to freely interchanged melodic and rhythmic components. It heads towards an animated ending. The second movement features a lyrical and beautiful melody. The finale mixes what has been heard in the precedent movements. It builds momentum to end in a resigned and conclusive manner.[5]

Notable recordings[]

Notable recordings of this composition include:

Quartett Record Company Year of recording Format
Kronos Quartet Nonesuch 1995 CD
Naxos 2010 CD

References[]

  1. ^ Philip Glass - Compositions
  2. ^ "Brian Buczak 1954–1987". VISUAL AIDS. New York. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  3. ^ Grimshaw, Jeremy. String Quartet No. 4 (Buzcak) at AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  4. ^ Oldham, Tim. "String Quartet No 4 'Buczak' - The Smith Quartet" (PDF). Hyperion Records. Signum Classics. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  5. ^ Whitehouse, Richard. "About this Recording 8.559636 - GLASS, P.: String Quartets Nos. 1-4 (Carducci String Quartet)". Naxos Digital Services Ltd. Retrieved February 17, 2017.

External links[]

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