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
Brian Buczak. It was premiered on July 4, 1989 at the
Hauser Gallery.
Composition
It was commissioned by
Geoffrey Hendricks in remembrance of the artist
Brian Buczak, who succumbed to AIDS in 1987 at the age of 33. 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
uczakas a person as well as a tribute to his life's work".
Structure
This composition consists of three
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 ...
and takes approximately 23 minutes to perform. The movements are listed as follows:
This quartet touches on the quartet heritage of
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...
and also
Antonín Dvořák. 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.
Notable recordings
Notable recordings of this composition include:
References
External links
Archivio Conz*, Paul Klee 4 TET, 2008
{{Portal bar, Classical music
String quartets by Philip Glass
1983 compositions