Description
A quartet for string orchestra! This will sound strange to you. I already know all objections that will be raised: the destruction of intimacy, of individuality. But this would be mistaken. What I intend is nothing but an ideal representation of the quartet.“ (Gustav Mahler, 1899). The perceived contradictions appear at first to be barely reconcilable. On one side is the string quartet, regarded unarguably as the noblest and most demanding musical genre since the time of the First Viennese School. On the other side are those works for string orchestra from the 19th century, which are associated with a rich, more aesthetically pleasing, even lyrically melancholy tone – for example, the widely popular serenades for strings by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, and Elgar. As a result, the boundaries between string quartet and string orchestra seem to bestrictly drawn – if the occasional misunderstanding of performance practice and particular aspects, or simply a delightful new idea, had not led again and again to new sonic explorations."
