03/10/2014 - Strasbourg (France), Festival Musica, Palais de la musique et des congrès, Salle Erasme - Quatuor Arditti, Bamberger Symphoniker, Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie, Jonathan Nott (conductor)
Before beginning to write a new piece, I always need to determine the outlines of the universe in which I am going to work, to define what could eventually be called a "strategy". It is also a question of defining a form, a "dramaturgy" for the musical discourse, and to conceive a means of how to approach writing, in this particular case, for string quartet and orchestra.
The string quartet is often treated homophonically, with the orchestra becoming a sort of screen which receives the projected vestiges, imprints (or "shadows") of the quartet. These are sometimes amplified and developed in such a way that the musical discourse shifts, with the quartet in turn becoming the screen, taking over the imprints, the "Spuren" left by the orchestra.
Michael Jarrell
