string quartet

(2013)

Circumambulation was inspired by Lawrence Krauss’s Lecture “A Universe from Nothing.” In short, it describes the universe’s formation via entropy, a theory of the shape of the universe, and its untimely heat death. I decided to create the string quartet in a linear heterophony to, in more or less words, tell the story of the universe this way.

This work was not only a challenge to write because of its programmatic content, but also because it was an exercise in writing complex music for student performers. A new notation system was developed for the fast passages so the performers didn’t need to spend countless hours practicing new-complexity-level content, but could still communicate the intricate ideas without compromising the work. Similarly, multiple extended techniques are used, but none too difficult for a student.