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Towards the island

Saturday 24.August

19:30

Music in Old Cracow. Aula bł. Jakuba, ul. Franciszkańska 4

CIKADA STRING QUARTET – “ISLAND TOUR” 2013/14

“The Island” is an iconic metaphor that has inspired and fascinated people throughout history. The words of John Donne (1572-1631) “No man is an island, entire of itself” has become one of the most popular proverbs of all time.

Referring to his music in the Frank Scheffer´ film “A labyrinth of Time”, Elliott Carter says: “My own music is a picture of society as I hoped it would be, hope it will be. That is, there are a lot of individuals dealing with each other, sensitive to each other, cooperating and yet not losing their own individuality”.

The string quartet is a perfect laboratory for studying how people relate to each other as individuals (or islands) and as a group. We have been inspired by the subject of the individual versus the collective, and have created a program where we use the physical room to explore the boundaries of musical interaction. We present works by leading composers such as Haas, Lutoslawski, Carter and Cage, framed by excerpts from Bachs “Die Kunst der Fuge”.

And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below The island of Shalott

Alfred Tennyson

Program:

J.S. Bach – from Kunst der Fuge

Witold Lutoslawski – from String Quartet (1964) (excerpt)

Georg Friedrich Haas – String Quartet No 5 (2007)

Eivind Buene – from City Silence (2005-2008) (excerpt)

John Cage – from String Quartet in Four Parts (1950) (part 1&4)

Krzysztof Penderecki – String Quartet No 1 (1960)

Elliott Carter – Two Fragments (1994)

J.S. Bach – from Kunst der Fuge

Visit Music in Old Cracow’s website here

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