String Quartet No.3 'Three Miniatures'

String Quartet No.3 'Three Miniatures' was composed by Per Nørgård in 1959. Manuscript copy. Programme Note: The spectrum of sound, the gesticulation – in short, the very nature of the strings – has always had a central place in my output, demonstrated by the numbers of string quartets, concertos with string soloist, chamber and solo works. The interest dates back to my school years, when I was fortunate to be able to compose for a cello-playing schoolmate and to accompany him on the piano. I discovered then the innumerable nuances of sound and playing varieties offered by just one bow, four strings and five fingers... The Three Miniatures for string quartet has aconsequent experimental structure that dictates every note in the three extremely short movements. Each member of the quartet thus plays his own little melody a certain (but different) number of times so that the brand new soundscopes constantly appear in spite of the unchanging parts, due to their different length. Per Nørgård