"For There They Were..." by Jack Herscowitz published on 2020-09-26T21:44:36Z Recorded by the Arditti Quartet on August 20, 2020 at the Hellereu Center for the Arts in Dresden, Germany via June in Buffalo 2020 Violin I- Irvine Arditti Violin II- Ashot Sarkissjan Viola- Ralf Ehlers Cello- Lucas Fels Audio Technician-Olaf Mielke Program Notes: "For There They Were..." consists of a single movement divided into two sections. The first is a slow web of twisting building fughettas interspersed with brief cello solos. A brief viola solo parts the clouds but is swallowed up again in frustration, until a release in the second section: a drunken waltz.The waltz begins with a demented and sardonic violin solo that leads into the full ensemble dance. Mimicking the state of inebriation, the waltz whisks its teetering “dancers” from one part of a party to another. Suddenly, the music melts off the page in a fierce chaotic improvisation that concludes the performance. My deepest gratitude to the Arditti Quartet for recording the piece and to the Jupiter Quartet for first reading the piece.
