String Quartet No. 6

Peter Ruzicka (1948-)

... ERINNERUNG UND VERGESSEN (MEMORY AND FORGETTING) ... String Quartet No. 6 with soprano

I. e = 100

II. e = 128 tumultuoso

III. h = 58

IV. h = 40

V. -

VI. e = 100 - e = 46

Mojca Erdmann (soprano)

Minguet Quartet

MP3 recorded at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn on September 19, 2010 by Deutsche Welle (DW)

In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Peter Ruzicka described the Beethovenfest as "…excellently managed. Besides addressing Beethoven, it establishes a different point of focus every year. It also provides a platform for cyclic performances of works. I was invited to voice a couple of my own wishes, so I chose from among works I've newly composed and those I have the chance to interpret as a conductor."

Ruzicka's sixth string quartet premiered in 2008. It revolves around the poet Friedrich Hoelderlin and his late work "Mnemosyne," named after the Greek goddess of memory and of water sources who conceived nine nymphs with Zeus, the father of the gods. Ruzicka uses text fragments from Hoelderlin's poem in the second half of the composition, which has a highly unusual setting: string quartet with soprano. The title "Memory and Forgetting" is also a reference to Ruzicka's long and productive career as a composer. Accordingly, it includes melodies and motifs from his earlier works and those of other composers.

Author: Gudrun Heise (rf)
Editor: Greg Wiser