''Alchymic Quartet'' is a string quartet by Graham Waterhouse composed in 2022, inspired by chemical experiments of his teacher

Andrew Szydlo Andrew Zbigniew Szydlo ( ; born 1949) is a British chemist and chemistry teacher, best known for his talks and lectures on chemistry. Biography Szydlo was born in London, England to Polish parents, and attended Latymer Upper School, and then ...

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

. It was premiered in

Gilching Gilching is a municipality in the district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 13 km north of Starnberg, and 22 km west of Munich (centre). The quarters Argelsried, Neugilching and Geisenbrunn belong to the municipality of ...

and Munich, in celebration of the composer's 60th birthday, with Szydlo attending and performing.

History

Waterhouse composed ''Alchymic Quartet'' in the autumn of 2022, inspired by his

chemistry teacher

. When Waterhouse was a student at the school, and a cellist in the school orchestra, he approached the teacher who played violin and viola to make music together. He invited Szydlo to the concerts celebrating his 60th birthday in 2022, and Szydlo not only came, but also performed chemical experiments alongside the world premiere of the music on 4 November 2022, and gave a speech (in German) at the main concert the following day.

Structure and music

The work is structured in four

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

with the titles naming chemical experiments, which are ideally performed at the same time. # ''Chain Reaction'' # ''Wave Patterns'' # ''Colour Transformations'' (with hommage) # ''Alchymic Cauldron'' ''Wave Patterns'' are reflected in moving soundscapes (). The movements have characteristic intervals, clear themes and motifs. The third movement features a quotation from

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...

who wrote funeral music for

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, as an homage to

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

who died while the piece was being composed. The final ''Alchymic Cauldron'' was described as an "organic, purposeful sound development" ("").

Performances

''Alchymic Quartet'' was first performed at the

town hall on 4 November 2022 in a concert named . It was played by the Philharmonisches Streichquartett München, formed by musicians from the

Münchner Philharmoniker The Munich Philharmonic (german: Münchner Philharmoniker, links=no) is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Rad ...

Clément Courtin Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. Other uses * A ...

, Bernhard Metz,

Konstantin Sellheim Konstantin Sellheim (born 1978) is a German classical violist, who has appeared internationally with a focus on chamber music. He is a violist of the Münchner Philharmoniker, and lecturer of viola at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Career ...

and Manuel von der Nahmer. Szydlo presented the experiments at the same time. The quartet was played again the following day by the same performers as part of GW60, a concert at the

Allerheiligen-Hofkirche The Allerheiligen-Hofkirche (Court Church of All Saints) is a church in the Munich Residenz (the royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs) designed by Leo von Klenze and built between 1826 and 1837. The church was badly damaged from bombing during Wor ...

in Munich to celebrate the composer's 60th birthday. Szydlo addressed the audience in a laudatio in German, with details from his early contacts with Waterhouse, making music together with the teacher as the violinist.

References

External links

*
Graham Waterhouse
website {{Authority control Chamber music by Graham Waterhouse Contemporary classical compositions Compositions for string quartet 2022 compositions