Chamber Music Work of the Day, Installment 33:
"String Quartet (1987)", ca. 17 Minutes
"String Quartet (1987)" remains among the most tightly composed, and virtuosic pieces of music in my oeuvre. I wrote this work when I was in the PhD program at Brandeis University under the guidance of my composition teacher at the time, the late Martin Boykan.
While everyone in the composition program knew that he and I did not get along personally—the chemistry between us was simply off, I respected his abilities more than any of composition teachers I have ever had. As with the book "The Shaping Forces of Music" by Ernst Toch, Martin did not focus only notes, rhythms, and dynamics, most importantly, he focused on how one's music phrases.
Returning to the notes, I still remember the moment when I completed work on "String Quartet (1987)". After many months of composing it, and while in a group composition class taught by Martin Boykan, he said, "Bravo, Stanley, the piece is almost done. Every note is right... except for this one." Of course, he was correct.
In a music theory class I took previously which was also taught by Martin Boykan, we studied Arnold Schoenberg's "String Trio", Opus 45. "String Quartet (1987)" is heavily influenced by what I learned from that experience, and is for all intents and purposes an homage to that composer, that piece, and the effect it had on me.
"String Quartet (1987)" was performed by the Boston Composers String Quartet at the New England Conservatory of Music in Jordan Hall, Boston, January 29, 1989, and in Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, New York City, February 12, 1989 17 min. Follow the next URL to here to listen to their Boston performance.
Follow the next URL to view a NEW scrolling score music video for "String Quartet (1987)" on my YouTube channel which I just created to encourage more live performances of this work. The soundtrack is from the live Boston performance.
Just to say, page 16 of this score remains one of my favorite passages of music in any of my compositions, with the cello climaxing above the other instruments.
"String Quartet (1987)" is available for licensing from me, and for sale from Sheet Music Plus. Follow the next URL to visit the distributor's product page for this title.
Follow the next URL to view a watermarked PDF score of "String Quartet (1987)" on my website. This score is also among my most elegant-looking music engravings.
I hope you enjoy "String Quartet (1987)". Thank you for your time and attention.
Stanley M. Hoffman, PhD
Link to my website: https://www.stanleymhoffman.com
Biography Published in Grove Music Online (The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Oxford University Press)
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