Homunculus is a short (circa 12 minutes) work for string quartet which the composer wrote during the Autumn months of 2007 for the Johannes Quartet.He wanted to compose a piece that would be very compact in form andduration but still contain many different characters and textures. In other words a little piece that behaves like a big piece.He has long been fascinated (and amused) by the arcane spermists’ theory who held the beliefthat the sperm was in fact a 'little man' (homunculus) that was placed inside a woman for growth into a child. This seemed to them to neatly explain many of the mysteries of conception. It was later pointed out that if the spermwas a homunculus identical in all but size to an adult then the homunculus may have sperm of its own. This led to a reductio ad absurdum with an endless chain of homunculi. This was not necessarily considered by spermists afatal objection however as it neatly explained how it was that 'in Adam' all had sinned: the whole of humanity was already contained in his loins.He decided to call my piece Homunculus despite the obvious weaknesses of thespermists’ thinking as he found the idea of a perfect little man strangely moving.

This collection, arranged for string quartet or string orchestra, is written for educational or professional use, or just to have fun playing selections from the classic Gershwin® work. It's great for concerts, recitals, receptions, parties, and other special occasions. Titles are: Summertime * It Ain't Necessarily So * Bess, You Is My Woman * I Got Plenty of Nuttin' * A Woman Is a Sometime Thing * There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York * My Man's Gone Now * Oh Lawd, I'm on My Way.

Par MOZART WOLFGANG AMADEUS. Le quatuor à cordes classique et romantique fait partie du répertoire central des éditions G. Henle. Après que Haydn et Beethoven ont depuis longtemps déjà été représentés au catalogue Henle comme sur les podiums de concert du monde entier, vient maintenant le tour du troisième classique viennois: l?intégralité des 26 quatuors à cordes de Mozart (parmi lesquels les 3 «Divertissements salzbourgeois») figure au catalogue Henle en qualité Urtext, que ce soit en parties séparées, en édition numérique (App) ou en édition d?étude (partition de poche). Ces dernières sont ainsi également accessibles dans leur globalité, sous la forme d?un coffret pratique. Une vue d?ensemble unique sur l??uvre intégrale pour quatuor à cordes de Mozart. Édités par les soins de Wolf-Dieter Seiffert, l?expert de Mozart, ces quatre volumes sont remplis de surprises éditoriales. Voilà pourquoi ce coffret est un indispensable compagnon de route pour tous les ensembles de quatuors à cordes et les fans de Mozart! / Date parution : 2022-04-05/ Recueil / Quatuor avec Piano

'Quartet In C Minor' is in four movements with a total duration of about 25 minutes. The opening Allegro is similar in style to Dvorak in its lyricism though there is a darker more brooding atmosphere towards the close. It is tempting to detect a hint of folk-song in the theme of the Andantino played by the viola but that may be stretching hindsight too far. The movement has a wistful melancholy that carries over into the following Intermezzo a song-like episode containing some of the most virtuosic writing in the work. The last movement is a theme and six variations with a fugal ending. The theme is ballad-like with a suggestion of 18th-century elegance. Modalitycreeps into the second Adagio variation and there is rhythmic exhilaration in the succeeding Presto. What can be admired in this attractive quartet is its conciseness. This String Quartet was his first major composition of any kind.