String Quartet No. 4, also known by its other title ''Buczak'', is a
string quartet
The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
by the American composer
Philip Glass
Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
. 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-related complications 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:
Generic uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
* Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...
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 period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
and
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
. 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