Michael Blake
STRING QUARTET No.5
Bardic Edition BDE1147
My fifth string quartet was composed during two residencies, July to August 2014 in Druskininkai at the invitation of DAR (Lithuanian Composers Union), and from September to November 2014 in Stellenbosch at the invitation of STIAS (Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study). My thanks to Egidija Medeksaite and Zita Bruzaite; Hendrik Geyer and the Board of STIAS.
Katharina Wolpe, friend and pianist, with whom I studied from time to time, died in 2013; on a number of occasions I performed the quite remarkable music of her father Stefan Wolpe. His Form for piano, a key work in Kathi’s repertoire, informs this quartet in various ways, not least in its quotation and use of the opening 6-note row. At the same time, Schubert’s late Drei Klavierstucke, to which Kathi brought unforgettable insights, provides the raw material for my piece.
The first performance was given by the Chordos Quartet on 14th September, 2018 in the Anthroposophische Zentrum Kassel, Germany during the Festival der Komponisten-Initiative Kassel. Michael Blake
Score and parts included.
Duration 10 minutes
Katharina Wolpe, friend and pianist, with whom I studied from time to time, died in 2013; on a number of occasions I performed the quite remarkable music of her father Stefan Wolpe. His Form for piano, a key work in Kathi’s repertoire, informs this quartet in various ways, not least in its quotation and use of the opening 6-note row. At the same time, Schubert’s late Drei Klavierstucke, to which Kathi brought unforgettable insights, provides the raw material for my piece.
The first performance was given by the Chordos Quartet on 14th September, 2018 in the Anthroposophische Zentrum Kassel, Germany during the Festival der Komponisten-Initiative Kassel. Michael Blake
Score and parts included.
Duration 10 minutes
