FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
String Quartet No. 4 (2026)
Four Movements [25 mins.]
I. Adagio: Espressivo - meditativ und schön
II. Minuetto e Trio III. Andante - tranquillo
IV. Presto e Legato (reflexion über ein Theme von F. Chopin)
PROGRAM NOTES:
Notes SQ4
In 1980, not too long after our first child was born, I wrote a piece for solo cello titled TWO PIECES FOR BABY. In addition to just having a baby, for many months I had been studying around the clock in order to pass all the exams, written and oral, for my Ph.D. I enjoyed the studying, but was a bit frustrated, because during that time I wasn’t able to do any writing – composing. So, with all the exams completed, when I started writing the solo cello piece, I was so thrilled to be back at it that the first piece just flew out, especially the opening line. Then, as I began the second piece, a strange thing happened. I began it in a mood, tempo, harmony, and theme contrasting the first piece – of course. But then within a few seconds of the opening — poof! I found that I was continuing the first piece. It seemed wrong to do this. But it also seemed perfect.
Quoting myself, then, is something that I have continued to do from time to time. This is especially true with my recent 2nd and 4th String Quartets. This 4th quartet isn’t really in 4 separate movements. It is a one unified piece wearing 4 different costumes. By quoting the 1st movement in the 4th or stating the same thematic/motivic ideas (e.g. repeated pitches, tonally related harmonies, high-pitched “squeals in the 2 violins, even the game of one-ups-man-ship among the 4 players, etc.) scattered in all 4 movements, I have written a single saga, but with 3 brief pauses — the silence between the movements. (That silence is also motivic! And I think that during those short pauses, the music, thus, continues its narrative.)
A comment about the 4th movement: It is a reworking of the final movement of Chopin’s Bb minor Sonata. The movement follows the ”Marché Funébre” movement, the infamous funeral march that is probably the most quoted such march in the popular vernacular. (One can even hear it several times in Warner Bros. cartoons!) Following it, the 4th movement, with its finger-grinding 2-handed gusting, is nicknamed “the wind over the graveyard.” The 4th movement of my 4th string quartet takes this idea and runs with it, recalling the three previous movements, as our life passes before our eyes.
Yeah, the graveyard. I’m getting up there – in age that is. The end is a real thing. It is the single event that unifies mankind. My recent works seem to be ruminating about this upcoming event, and my relationship with it, and those whom I love and have loved.
Notes SQ4
In 1980, not too long after our first child was born, I wrote a piece for solo cello titled TWO PIECES FOR BABY. In addition to just having a baby, for many months I had been studying around the clock in order to pass all the exams, written and oral, for my Ph.D. I enjoyed the studying, but was a bit frustrated, because during that time I wasn’t able to do any writing – composing. So, with all the exams completed, when I started writing the solo cello piece, I was so thrilled to be back at it that the first piece just flew out, especially the opening line. Then, as I began the second piece, a strange thing happened. I began it in a mood, tempo, harmony, and theme contrasting the first piece – of course. But then within a few seconds of the opening — poof! I found that I was continuing the first piece. It seemed wrong to do this. But it also seemed perfect.
Quoting myself, then, is something that I have continued to do from time to time. This is especially true with my recent 2nd and 4th String Quartets. This 4th quartet isn’t really in 4 separate movements. It is a one unified piece wearing 4 different costumes. By quoting the 1st movement in the 4th or stating the same thematic/motivic ideas (e.g. repeated pitches, tonally related harmonies, high-pitched “squeals in the 2 violins, even the game of one-ups-man-ship among the 4 players, etc.) scattered in all 4 movements, I have written a single saga, but with 3 brief pauses — the silence between the movements. (That silence is also motivic! And I think that during those short pauses, the music, thus, continues its narrative.)
A comment about the 4th movement: It is a reworking of the final movement of Chopin’s Bb minor Sonata. The movement follows the ”Marché Funébre” movement, the infamous funeral march that is probably the most quoted such march in the popular vernacular. (One can even hear it several times in Warner Bros. cartoons!) Following it, the 4th movement, with its finger-grinding 2-handed gusting, is nicknamed “the wind over the graveyard.” The 4th movement of my 4th string quartet takes this idea and runs with it, recalling the three previous movements, as our life passes before our eyes.
Yeah, the graveyard. I’m getting up there – in age that is. The end is a real thing. It is the single event that unifies mankind. My recent works seem to be ruminating about this upcoming event, and my relationship with it, and those whom I love and have loved.