String Quartet No.4 (2014)
““Matthew Barnson (* 1979) also wrote his 20-minute fourth string quartet to produce something other than string sound: breathing noises. It was something of yoga. After ten minutes of polyphonic breathing, asthmatic whistling open strings were added. Nevertheless, there was something compelling about the piece, actually crazy too.””
Duration: 26 minutes
Instrumentation: Two violins, viola, violoncello. NB: requires slight downward scordatura, metal practice mutes, and playing on the side of the instruments. Players in both Heidelberg and members of Ensemble Intercontemporain tuned down to accommodate the string relations.
Commission: String Quartet No.4 was commissioned as an Auftragswerk des Heidelberger Frühling
Premiere: April 5, 2014. Daphnis Quartet at Heidelberger Frühling; Alte Aula, Universität Heidelbergs, (Heidelberg, Germany)
Availability: For hire until the North American Premiere. Please request through contact page. If interested in the American premiere, contact me.
Press
“Auch Matthew Barnson (*1979) schrieb sein 20-minütiges viertes Streichquartett, um etwas anderes als Streicherklang zu produzieren: Atemgeräusche. Sie entstehen durch langsamen Bogenstrich auf dem Korpus der abgedämpften Instrumente. Das hatte etwas von Yoga. Nach zehn Minuten polyphonen Atmens kamen asthmatisch pfeifende Leersaiten hinzu. Dennoch hatte das Stück etwas Bezwingendes, wenngleich der Komponist dafür Buhs bekam. Eigentlich auch verrückt.” - Rhein-Necker Zeitung, July 4, 2014
“Matthew Barnson (* 1979) also wrote his 20-minute fourth string quartet to produce something other than string sound: breathing noises. They are created by slow bowing on the body of the muted instruments. It was something of yoga. After ten minutes of polyphonic breathing, asthmatic whistling open strings were added. Nevertheless, there was something compelling about the piece, although the composer got boos for it. Actually crazy too.” Rhein-Necker Zeitung, July 4, 2014 (Google Translate)