Bronius Kutavičius - String Quartet No.2 Anno cum tettigonia

Anno cum tettigonia (Year with the Grasshopper) for string quartet and tape (1980) is a composition of rational craftsmanship, based upon a unique harmony (which brings to mind the sounds of ancient Lithuanian skudučiai -- panpipes) and a precisely ordered presentation of musical gradations. This piece, composed in canon form, is considered a classic of Lithuanian minimalism. Its texture is woven with increasing density until it reaches a culmination, whereupon it gradually grows sparse until it thins out completely. The grasshopper is the symbol for a year in Japanese mythology. The timing in this quartet is measured with accurate precision: it is comprised of 365 measures, at every seventh measure there is a slight variation in rhythm, and a recording of a bell tolling is heard twelve times. © 2011 Austė Nakienė © 2011 translation by Ada Valaitis 16th International Thomas Mann Festival (Nida, 2012) KAUNAS STRING QUARTET: Karolina Beinarytė (violin) Dalia Terminaitė (violin) Eglė Lapinskė (viola) Saulius Bartulis (cello) Kauno styginių kvartetas http://www.kaunokvartetas.lt/