String Quartet No. 4 (1986) | Compositions

Commission: The Composers Quartet, the Sequoia Quartet, and the Thouvenel Quartet
Dedication: To the Composers Quartet
Buy Score: Hendon Music (Boosey & Hawkes)
Manuscripts: Paul Sacher Stiftung

Premiere: Sep 17, 1986/ Composers String Quartet: Matthew Raimondi (vln I), Anahid Ajemian (vln II), Jean Dane (vla), Mark Shuman (vcl)/ Festival Miami, University of Miami, FL

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String Quartet No. 4 clip

A preoccupation with giving each member of the performing group its own musical identity characterizes my String Quartet No. 4; thus mirroring the democratic attitude in which each member of a society maintains his or her own identity while cooperating in a common effort – a concept that dominates all my recent work. In this quartet, more than in others of my scores, a spirit of cooperation prevails. Each player’s part has its own musical materials and expressive character, and each participates in its own way in the four-part ensemble. While there are many changes of mood and speed and frequent pauses, the work is in one long, constantly changing movement. In the background, however, there is a suggestion of the traditional four-movement plan of the classical string quartet – Appassionato, Scherzando, Lento, Presto.

String Quartet No. 4 is dedicated to the Composers String Quartet, who commissioned the score as one of a consortium made up of two others – the Sequoia and Thouvenel Quartets – that was financed in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The score was composed during part of 1985-86 in New York City, Waccabuc, and at the American Academy in Rome. The Composers Quartet gave its premiere at Festival Miami on September 17, 1986.

– Elliott Carter

Recordings (6)

The Juilliard String Quartet: Elliott Carter: The Five String Quartets
Sony 8843-03383-2 (2014)
Juilliard String Quartet: Robert Mann, violin; Joel Smirnoff, violin; Samuel Rhodes, viola; Joel Krosnick, cello; Joseph Lin, violin; Ronald Copes, violin
Elliott Carter: The Complete String Quartets; 100th Anniversary Release
Naxos 8.503225 (2010)
Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin I; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin II; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello
Pacifica Quartet: Elliott Carter: String Quartets Nos. 2, 3 and 4
Naxos 8.559363 (2009)
Pacifica Quartet: Simin Ganatra, violin; Sibbi Bernhardsson, violin; Masumi Per Rostad, viola; Brandon Vamos, cello
Elliott Carter: The Four String Quartets; Duo for Violin and Piano
Sony S2K 47229 (1991)
Robert Mann, violin | Christopher Oldfather, piano | Juilliard String Quartet: Joel Smirnoff, violin; Samuel Rhodes, viola; Joel Krosnick, cello
Composers Quartet: Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, Mel Powell
Music & Arts CD 606 (1990)
The Composers Quartet: Matthew Raimondi, violin; Anahid Ajemian, violin II; Maureen Gallagher, viola; Mark Shuman
The Arditti String Quartet: Elliott Carter: The Works for String Quartet, Volume 1
Etcetera KTC 1065 (1988)
Arditti String Quartet: Irvine Arditti, violin; David Alberman, violin; Levine Andrade, viola; Rohan De Saram, cello