Claude Debussy: String Quartet - Parts: String Quartet: Parts

Debussy's only string quartet composed in 1893 was his first masterwork. Together with two further works from this creative period Prélude l'après-midi d'un faune and Pelléas et Mélisande the quartet established the composer's position as the rising star of the French music scene.Discrepancies existed from the initial publication in 1894 between the score corrected and seen into print by the composer and the parts not corrected by him. At a later point Debussy made a large number of corrections and alterations in a copy of the first edition; these alterations have been incorporated in this Bärenreiter Urtext edition.Thisscholarly-critical edition utilises all sources including the composer's letters which offer a valuable insight into the genesis of the composition.

String Quartet-Debussy?s new string quartet received a very cool reception at its première in Paris in December 1893 performed by the famous Quatuor Ysaÿe. The critics were upset by its unusual harmonies and orchestral sounds and the musicianswho were later presented with it considered it ?unplayable?. Nevertheless the work was able to establish itself in the years that followed and today belongs to the core chamber music repertoire. The work was published in 1894 as?1er Quatuor?; showing that the composer was at least toying with the idea of writing another such work at this time yet he never did fulfil this promise.

Composed between 1973 and 1976  Ainsi La Nuit for String Quartet is one of the most important works of its genre by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013) a French composer following the paths of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation for the Juilliard Quartet  Ainsi La Nuitis based on a series of studies lasting 18 minutes and divided into 7 sections: 1. Nocturne 2. Miroir d'espace 3. Litanies 4. Litanies II 5. Constellations 6. Nocturne II 7. Temps suspendu Built on single hexachords it also uses theoctatonic mode and focuses on harmonies contrasts and oppositions of register. Henri Dutilleux was internationally acclaimed for his work winning prizes such as the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers among many others. His work also includes a Piano sonata two symphonies the Violin concerto 'L'arbre des songes' (The tree of dreams) and the Cello concerto 'Tout un monde lointain' (A whole distant world).