STRING QUARTET OF THE FUTURE

Tomasz Prasqual – „Can there be too much Love in this world?” – String quartet No. 2 *
String Quartet No. 2 “Can there be too much Love in this world?”, like all my works since 2010, draws inspiration from several sources: Walter Benjamin’s montage technique, various forms of fire in Hindu philosophy, and experiences of love in my life. Creating an organic work from such diverse sources of inspiration, showing secret connections and drawing new connections between things that initially seem to be incompatible, is a dangerous challenge. While my String Quartet No. 1 “Udaya” is full of passion and various struggles, String Quartet No. 2 focuses on a subtle, delicate exploration of microtonal musical material, accompanied by outbursts of passion. Love can sometimes be very difficult, and accepting it is a process.

Ejnar Kanding (DK) – Indestructible For Electronic String Quartet and MaxMSP *
This composition is inspired by fragments of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem Die Stille (The Silence, 1902), published in Das Buch der Bilder (The Book of Pictures, 1923). Each fragment is the title of one of nine pieces, exploring themes of absence, longing, and the distant, invisible forces that shape our inner worlds.

Part One:
It is addressed to a loved one who is absent. There is a lack of understanding why – perhaps even despair.

Do you hear me, I raise my hands? (Hörst du, ich hebe die Hände?)
Do you hear me, I close my eyelids? (Hörst du, ich schließe die Lider?)
Why are you not here? (Warum bist du nicht hier?)
Part Two:
He/she looks inward, lost in longing and loneliness. Visible in Silk Silence (In der seidenen Stille sichtbar) Curtain of Distance (Vorhang der Ferne) Smells come to drink (Kommen die Düfte zur Tränke) – variation 1 of part III.
Part Three: There is something indefinable from outside that affects distant things. But that does not mean you will return.
On my breath the stars rise and fall (Auf meinen Atemzügen heben und senken die Sterne sich) Distant Angel (Entfernter Engel) You, I do not see (Dich seh ich nicht) – variation 2 of part III.

My Beautiful Decay (Carsten Bo Eriksen) (DK) – The Death of Lovers *
“The Death of Lovers,” a musical piece by My Beautiful Decay (Carsten Bo Eriksen), draws inspiration from Charles Baudelaire’s poem of the same name from his collection Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil). The poem explores the intertwining themes of love and death. It suggests that the only way for two star-crossed lovers to reunite is to transcend the cruel reality that separates them—through death. Baudelaire emphasizes the physicality of both love and death, drawing parallels between the intensity of both experiences.

Eriksen’s musical response to the poem is a piece for string quartet and electronics, divided into five movements with an approximate running time of 25 minutes. The title evokes a sense of longing and finality, suggesting the emotional heart of the composition.

The composer asks, “In the face of death, even the strongest love must surrender. Will our souls find each other again?” Eriksen’s composition captures this longing with melancholic strings and “haunted” electronics, creating a soundscape that reflects the lovers’ longing and the uncertainty of what lies beyond the world we know. To better understand the inspiration behind the song, you can read the poem: https://fleursdumal.org/poem/197

Marsel Nichan (SE) – Deus ex machina *

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