Works

Instrumentation (detailed)

Strings (plucked / bowed)

Violin, Violin, Viola, Cello

Performer(s)

The string quartet no.4 was commissioned by the Castelo Branco Festival. Unfortunately, when the time came for the premiere, only the first half was played. The piece is dedicated to the memory of my mother, who died at the beginning of 2001: her name was Beatrice and she was known to many as just "B". So the note B natural ends up playing a key role in the piece.

Instead of traditional movements, the quartet is a sequence of eighteen miniatures alternating with seven movements. In this case, the miniature is considered a movement with an exposition of an idea but with little or no development, and is therefore shorter; the movement is a section with some proliferation and is therefore larger. The quartet is structured in two parts: the first part is more restrained; the second is freer.

This work completes four string quartets (written in 1972, 1976, 1987 and 2001) to which more pieces have not been added due to the lack of development of string chamber music in this country. My initial musical training - as a cellist - naturally inclined me towards this family of instruments, but its lack of development in Portugal meant that I ended up writing more for wind and mixed ensembles. My thanks to the Quarteto de Matosinhos for taking a chance on this repertoire.

Christopher Bochmann

Work	Type	Date	Organization/Event	Venue	Town	Country	Performers	Notes	Inv Row
Quarteto de Cordas n.º 4	Premiere	2023/Dec/07		O’culto da Ajuda	Lisbon	Portugal	Matosinhos String Quartet Vítor Vieira (violin I) Juan Carlos Maggiorani (violin II) Jorge Alves (viola) Marco Pereira (cello)	Notes