< World Premiere >

ELLIOT CARTER : String Quartet No. 3

Tuesday 23 January, 1973 – Julliard School, New York

The Julliard String Quartet

Associated Music Publishers, 1973, 1998 (AMP 7303)

Awarded the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Music

“My String Quartet No. 3, commissioned by The Julliard School for the Julliard String Quartet, divides the instruments into pairs: a duo for Violin & Cello that plays in rubato style and a duo for Violin & Viola in more regular rhythm.

The Violin–Cello duo presents four different musical characters – an angry, intense 'Furioso' ; a fanciful 'Leggerissimo'; a 'Pizzicato giocoso'; and a lyrical 'Andante expressivo' – in short sections one after the other in various orders, sometimes with pauses between. The Violin–Viola duo, meanwhile, presents the six contrasting characters: 'Maestoso'; 'Grazioso'; 'Pizzicato, giusto mechanico'; 'Scorrevole'; 'Largo tranquillo'; and 'Appassionato'.

During the Quartet each character of each duo is presented alone and also in combination with each character of the other duo to give a sense of ever-varying perspectives of feelings, expression, rivalry and cooperation.” — Elliott Carter