String Quartet Research Articles

Real-Time Modulation Perception in Western Classical Music

The task of music listening involves an auditory scene analysis in which the listener makes judgments related to melody, harmony, and consonance or dissonance, all of which are made within the context of key or tonic region. Here we examine whether the process of tracking key region is independent of the process of tracking surface cues, and what surface cues may influence that process. To this end, highly trained, moderately trained, and untrained listeners listened to excerpts from string quartets, quintets, and sextets from the classical and romantic eras and responded when they heard a modulation. Each excerpt featured either a pivot chord modulation, a direct modulation, a common tone modulation, or no modulation. Listeners performed above chance across modulation conditions, and an interaction effect was observed for modulation type and participant training level. We also present an exploratory PCA that suggests that harmonic language and phrasing are both significant factors in guiding modulation perception, both of which merit further investigation.

The Transfigured Guitar of Alberto Ginastera Sonata for Guitar, op. 47

This research takes as a starting point the Alberto Ginastera's Sonata for Guitar, op. 47 (1976) The Sonata represents, within Ginastera's musical trajectory, an example of synthesis of his work, due to the variety of compositional and motivic material that he manages to link. Its interest relies in the way in which avant-garde compositional techniques, such as serialism or twelve-tone technique, are mixed with folklore rhythms and popular elements typical of Argentine traditional music. It offers the opportunity to verify in his compositional practice the theoretical approaches on music that the composer had presented in his previous works. Discovering the origin of the thematic and rhythm sources of the Sonata for Guitar by Ginastera is an invitation to inquire in the valuable atmosphere of Argentine folklore. Since its premiere, the Sonata has attracted increasing interest for its innovative contributions to contemporary music. The result is a tribute to the guitar, the Argentine folk music and the avant-garde music. As far as the guitar as an instrument is concerned, in it the composer explores a great variety of innovative resources that verify its suitability to transmit the contents of contemporary music, while at the same time pays off the debt it had with Argentine folklore, present in its rhetoric and symbolically evoked, but now transfigured into a reality. Finally, this research presents some connections between this guitar piece and the String Quartet No. 1, op. 20, that Ginastera composed more than twenty years before.

MICHAEL BLAKE'S STRING QUARTETS AND THE IDEA OF AFRICAN ART MUSIC

AbstractThis article considers if and how the five string quartets of the South African composer Michael Blake, written between 2001 and 2014, could be considered as contributing to the compositional and discursive construct that is ‘African art music’. ‘African art music’ has often been evoked in connection with the compositional practices of West African composers especially but has received little consideration and scrutiny of its possible applications to South African composition. The political and artistic isolation of South Africa from the rest of Africa during much of the twentieth century is an obvious reason why this has been the case. But there is also the possibility that white South African composers during and after apartheid have engaged in composition from different intellectual and aesthetic starting points, compared to their African counterparts, due to the specific kind of coloniality they inhabit. The five string quartets afford a perspective on how Michael Blake negotiated the continuities of compositional authority and universalised commitment to a traditional Western sound ideal in the string quartet, with the self-awareness that white composition in post-apartheid South Africa arguably requires.

Nadia Boulanger and Her World, edited by Jeanice Brooks

<i>Nadia Boulanger and Her World</i>, edited by Jeanice Brooks

From Dürer's Magic Square to Klumpenhouwer Tesseracts: On Melencolia (2013) by Philippe Manoury

ABSTRACTMany Western art music composers have taken advantage of tabulated data for nourishing their creative practices, particularly since the early twentieth century. The arrival of atonality and serial techniques was crucial to this shift. Among the authors dealing with these kinds of tables, some have considered the singular mathematical properties of magic squares. This paper focuses on a particular case study in this sense: Philippe Manoury's Third String Quartet, entitled Melencolia. We mainly analyse mainly several strategies conceived by the French composer – through his own sketches – in order to manipulate pitches and pitch‐classes over time. For that purpose, we take advantage of Klumpenhouwer networks as a way to settle wide and dense isographic relationships. Our hyper‐K‐nets sometimes reach a total of 32 arrows that allow geometrical arrangements as tesseracts in which their different dimensions cluster related families of isographies. In doing so, we aim to provide an instructive example of how to contextualise K‐nets and isographies as powerful tools for the analysis of compositional practices.

Integration, Urbanity, and Multi-Dimensionality in Schoenberg’s First Quartet

This article addresses the network of forms and genres at play in Schoenberg’s First String Quartet, op. 7, proposing a conception of the work as a representation of urban life in fin-de-siècle Vienna. I offer a summary of the emotionally volatile program and prior analyses, highlighting the central points of contention between analysts. Most especially, these include the relationship between an overall sonata form and a set of intervening cyclic movements. I then problematize Steven Vande Moortele’s notion of “two-dimensional sonata form,” drawing from theoretical investigations into narrative levels and embedded forms in literary theory. The bulk of the article revolves around a thoroughgoing analysis of the large-scale form of the Quartet, presenting a novel reading that situates the work within a complex web of interacting forms and genres. The Quartet begins as a large-scale sonata form, which is interrupted by a juxtaposed cycle of interpolated movements. Upon the arrival of the rondo finale, the sonata is complete. I demonstrate that the rondo finale may be construed as a mirror to a large-scale overarching rondo that can explain the multiple dimensions of the entire work.

The Emergence of Interactive Music: The Vision and Presence of Joel Chadabe

The Emergence of Interactive Music: The Vision and Presence of Joel Chadabe

Ludwig van Beethoven: Streichquartett B-Dur Op. 130: Grande Fugue B-Dur Op. 133: Autograph. Ulrich Konrad.

For Joseph Kerman, the String Quartet in B flat, Op. 130, was Beethoven’s ‘most dissociated composition’ (The Beethoven Quartets (London, 1967), 321), the antithesis to the paradigm of ‘integration’ represented by the C sharp minor work, Op. 131. Kerman’s concern was with matters of musical design and structure, particularly the ‘special concept of coherence in this work’, one that he found ‘less instinctual than constructed, less direct than refined, less normal than paradoxical: in a word, less sure’ (ibid. 305). ‘Dissociation’ in Op. 130 is writ largest in Beethoven’s decision—still a matter of aesthetic dispute nearly two centuries after the fact—to reject the original finale, eventually published separately as the ‘Grande Fugue’, Op. 133 (the customary title Große Fuge has no source-derived authority) and in a four-hand arrangement for piano as Op. 134, in favour of the substitute movement composed in the autumn of 1826. That decision entailed physical...

Musical Probability and the Music of Claude Debussy. Expectancy and Information in (…Bruyères) and the String Quartet

This article explores the relationship between musical expectancy and information through the use of both hidden Markov models, Bayesian probability and their application to Claude Debussy’s Prélude (…Bruyères) and his string quartet. (…Bruyères), which is one of the most conservative of the Préludes, is an interesting example of the composer’s use of “vagrant” sonorities which persist despite a perceived tonal hierarchy. An analysis of the varying levels of information, determined by the levels of expectancy which arise throughout the composition, illustrates an aspect of analysis which has not yet been applied to Debussy’s music. A study of musical information will inevitably lead to the study of probabilty, as a greater degree of information is expressed by events which could be considered to be less probable. Much of the research that has been done thus far in musical probability has used as a priori a collection of stylistic precepts, which are referred to as likely events. This article, however, attempts to determine probabilistic events based on “intra-opus” events by using David Temperley’s Bayesian approach to determine likely events within a composition. These are classified as events within a hidden Markov model, which examines the interrelationships of variables, some of which are perceived and some which are simply implied. A statistical “extra-opus” methodology is employed and compared to the Bayesian style. In the seond part of the article, melodic probability in a polyphonic context is discussed by examining the several sections from Debussy’s string quartet. The probabalistic fluctuations between voices in the quartet are then compared to the single melody of (…Bruyères).

Zur Zitattechnik in Helmut Lachenmanns Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied

In his Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied [Dance Suite with German National Anthem, 1979/80] Helmut Lachenmann uses a structure which combines dances from different cultural backgrounds and historical periods. In addition, he incorporates well-known traditional melodies into the work. These are mostly not identifiable by the listener. The German National Anthem (Deutschlandlied) is placed at the core of the work. In the Coda, the lullaby Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf is added. The Viennese folk song O du lieber Augustin constitutes a “quotation of a quotation” since Arnold Schönberg had already referred to it in the second movement of his Second String Quartet (1907/08). In the analysis, Lachenmann’s criteria for incorporating quotations become apparent: (1) With regard to rhythm he maintains the proportions of the quotations used, yet he applies changes. The exponential increase of note values, for example, reveals a highly structuralist approach to the construction of rhythm. (2) The shape of melodies/pitches from the quoted material are only partly retained and often extensively stretched and thus reshaped; in some instances, Lachenmann retains the pitches literally, sometimes the diatonic scale is transformed into a bright/dark-scale of noise sounds and clusters. (3) Lachenmann perceives the quotations as “structure”. By referencing well-known musical material, this structure is saturated with meaning. Lachenmann’s quotation technique shows the desire to legitimize music through its content; it demonstrates the endeavour to incorporate melody into a language of sound and noise and testifies to the composer’s intention to reach beyond structural realms and produce social and political meaning. All these aspects culminate in Lachenmann’s opera Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern (1991–96/2001). Thus, Tanzsuite mit Deutschlandlied might be considered an interim stage in Lachenmann’s work.

У ИСТОКОВ ЖАНРА ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО ФОРТЕПИАННОГО КВАРТЕТА

The article traces the processes affecting the self-development of the chamber-instrumental genre with piano. Here, the emphasis is placed on stylistic and genre continuity. The genesis and one of the stages of evolutional process of the piano quartet genre in its Western European version up to 1800 is considered. It is determined that the formation and development of the genre was primarily influenced by its timbre mobility. The process of development of chamber music with an obligate clavier in comparison with the string quartet genre is examined. The emergence of two opposite directions is emphasized, one focuses on string quartet aimed at professional performers, while the other relies heavily on the clavier, with the strings playing an accompanying role, and is intended mainly for amateurs. Examples of Baroque chamber ensembles with clavier are given, which were the impetus for the formation of the piano quartet genre. They contain a heterogeneity of compositional models, with a relatively unexpressive attitude to the timbre character of the ensemble sound, and using the practice of instrument substitution. The composers of such ensemble opuses are noted as the most famous by that time. The influence of the chamber works of J. Ch. Bach and C. Ph. E. Bach on the process of the formation and crystallization of the genre features of the piano quartet, which were later established in the chamber cycles of W. A. Mozart and L. van Beethoven, is traced. The conclusion emphasizes the influence of the epoch's very style on the formation of the fundamental features of the piano quartet.

Analyzing Michael Finnissy’s Second String Quartet. A Multimedia Interactive Approach

The aim of this collaborative research is to show the potential for developing interactive strategies for music analysis. This article demonstrates how the wide range of multimedia outputs of Bayley’s research into the processes of composition, rehearsal and performance of Michael Finnissy’s Second String Quartet (2006/2007) can be accommodated by extending Clarke’s “interactive aural” approach, using Cycling 74’s Max/MSP software. The overall objective is to provide a model that can be widely used for research into the creative processes that can subsequently inform music analysis. Traditionally, analysis of Western Classical music has made reference primarily, if not exclusively, to the score, and is presented as a linear written text, illustrated by music examples and charts. The approach developed here directs the activity of music analysis away from a fixed, static text and towards an interactive, multimedia experience evolving from creative and interpretative processes which shape the aural, transient and dynamic qualities of the music. Through the integration of materials resulting from ethnographic study, the software assists the analysis of composer-performer relationships which are particularly under-researched in musicology.

ЦЕРКОВНО-МУЗИЧНЕ ЖИТТЯ В КРАКОВІ КІНЦЯ ХІХ – ПЕРШОЇ ПОЛОВИНИ ХХ СТОЛІТЬ

The article examines the historical and political location of Galicia and the specificity of its cultural environment. The peculiarities of the musical life of the Galician city Kraków at the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries were noted. The predominance of the Catholic faith in «Polish Rome» is noted. The activities of musical educational institutions and musical societies, which held classes in choral singing and playing the organ, were noted. The church and musical life of the Roman Catholic population of Kraków at the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries is highlighted. New for liturgical musicology was getting to know the educational process in teachers' seminaries and in the Krakow Theological Seminary, where a men's choir, a string quartet and an orchestra operated. Much attention is paid to women's and men's monasteries, whose activities significantly influenced the development of church performance. In particular, a number of teaching aids were presented, attention was paid to the mastery of the brothers and sisters in choral, classical one- and two-part and polyphonic singing. The textbooks used to study Gregorian monody are noted and several nuns who became authors of sacred music are noted. The article reveals for the first time the most important schools attached to monasteries and their music groups. Data on the emergence of the Academic Choir and singing societies «Sokil», «Lute», «Haslo», «Worker's Lute», «Symphony», and the Society of Municipal Scribes, which cultivated church Roman Catholic music, were systematized. Particularly interesting are the facts about the combination of church and secular activities of the men's choir «Haslo» and «Cracow Lute». The repertoire of the leading groups and concert programs are also indicated, forming a holistic view of the church and musical life of Kraków at the end of the 19th – the first half of the 20th centuries.

Compositional Process in Elliott Carter’s String Quartets: A Study in Sketches. By Laura Emmery

<i>Compositional Process in Elliott Carter’s String Quartets: A Study in Sketches.</i> By Laura Emmery

Performance and Reception of Bartók’s Violin Music during His First Concert Tour of the United States (1927–1928)

Abstract During his first concert tour of the United States (1927–1928) Bartók played primarily his own music in lecture-recitals, orchestra performances, and chamber music concerts in fifteen American cities. Over the course of the tour, he collaborated with violinists Jelly d’Arányi and Joseph Szigeti to present a few of his works for violin and piano to members of musical clubs in New York City and Philadelphia, and before dignitaries at the Hungarian Embassy in Washington, D.C. – namely his Sonata for Violin and Piano no. 2 (1922), Hungarian Folk Tunes, for violin and piano (arranged by Joseph Szigeti, 1926), and Romanian Folk Dances for Violin and Piano (arranged by Zoltán Székely, 1925). In Boston and New York, Bartók played on recitals that also included performances of his String Quartets nos. 1 and 2. In this article I document the American reception of Bartók’s violin music during his U.S. recitals of early 1928. Music criticism in American newspapers and music journals, as well as detailed program notes from the string quartet performances, have been taken into account to reveal the assessment of Bartók’s violin music and string quartets and the characterization of the composer in the American press and concert halls. The reviews have also been considered in comparison to later recordings of the violin and piano works made by Bartók and Szigeti.

Imre Waldbauer, an Important but Little-Known Violinist Partner of Béla Bartók

Abstract Imre Waldbauer (1892–1952) attained his greatest stature as a performer in his position as the first violinist of the Waldbauer–Kerpely Quartet, named after him and cellist Jenő Kerpely. This ensemble premièred Bartók's String Quartets nos. 1, 2 and 4 and his early Piano Quintet. Although Waldbauer's name is mostly mentioned in the Bartók-literature primarily because of his quartet, he was also important for Bartók as a “standalone” violinist as well. Waldbauer and Bartók played numerous sonata recitals from the 1910s to the 1930s, and Waldbauer also played the first performance of important violin works by Bartók: the “One Ideal” from the Two Portraits, (première: Budapest, 12 February 1911), the Violin Sonata no. 2 (première: Berlin, 7 February 1923) and nos. 16, 19, 21, 28, 36, 42, 43, 44 from the Forty-Four Duos (concert hall première: Budapest, 20 January 1932). Although Waldbauer seems like an individual of special importance, very little is known about his relation to Bartók and about his life in general (unlike his violinist contemporaries, e.g. Joseph Szigeti or Zoltán Székely). The present paper focuses on the relationship between the composer and the violinist, using materials from the yet unexplored Waldbauer legacy held in the Budapest Bartók Archives (recent donation from the Waldbauer family).

Laura Emmery, Compositional Process in Elliott Carter's String Quartets: A Study in Sketches, Routledge, 2021, 250 pp., $39.16.

Laura Emmery, Compositional Process in Elliott Carter's String Quartets: A Study in Sketches, Routledge, 2021, 250 pp., $39.16.

TROPISMS – A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE GENESIS OF A COMPOSITION, STRING QUARTET NO. 5, DANCERS ON A PLANE

AbstractThis article considers the nature of the relationship between composers and musicologists and explores the aesthetic roots and ideas of my 5th String Quartet, Dancers on a Plane, which has recently been the subject of a musicological study.

The Effect of Register, Direction, and Magnitude on Musicians’ Evaluations of Chamber Ensemble Intonation: A Within-Study Comparison for Analysis of Repeated Measures

This study had two primary purposes: (1) to investigate the effect of register, direction, and magnitude on musicians’ evaluation of chamber ensemble intonation, and (2) determine whether a novel nonparametric technique, ordinal pattern analysis (OPA), was a viable alternative to repeated-measures analysis of variance (rANOVA). I digitally mastered a recording of a string quartet performing a phrase from Capriol Suite by altering the intonation of the violin or cello voice ±20 and 30 cents sharp and flat. Participants ( N = 72) completed a discrimination task and an evaluation task with the recordings, with task order, and within-task item order presented in a random order. Analysis using rANOVA revealed significant differences due to register, direction, and magnitude: Excerpts with cello errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with violin errors; excerpts with flat errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with sharp errors, and excerpts with 20-cent magnitude errors were rated as more in tune than excerpts with 30-cent magnitude errors. OPA results were consistent with rANOVA results. Substantive implications for music teaching and learning are discussed alongside methodological considerations and implications for music education research using repeated-measures designs.

The Interpersonal Entrainment in Music Performance Data Collection

The Interpersonal Entrainment in Music Performance Data Collection (IEMPDC) comprises six related corpora of music research materials: Cuban Son &amp; Salsa (CSS), European String Quartet (ESQ), Malian Jembe (MJ), North Indian Raga (NIR), Tunisian Stambeli (TS), and Uruguayan Candombe (UC). The core data for each corpus comprises media files and computationally extracted event onset timing data. Annotation of metrical structure and code used in the preparation of the collection is also shared. The collection is unprecedented in size and level of detail and represents a significant new resource for empirical and computational research in music. In this article we introduce the main features of the data collection and the methods used in its preparation. Details of technical validation procedures and notes on data visualization are available as Appendices. We also contextualize the collection in relation to developments in Open Science and Open Data, discussing important distinctions between the two related concepts.