| String quartets | |
|---|---|
| by Graham Waterhouse | |
 Composer Graham Waterhouse, 2011 | |
| Period | contemporary |
Graham Waterhouse, cellist and composer especially of chamber music, has written a number of works for string quartet, three major works in several movements, several smaller works and compositions for a solo instrument (piccolo, oboe, bassoon, piano) and string quartet.
As a cellist and composer, Waterhouse focuses on chamber music and has composed works for strings from solo cello to string sextet. Several works were written for string quartet, some using it juxtaposed to a solo instrument.
Four of the works were performed in a concert at the Gasteig on 4 November 2012, celebrating the composer's 50th birthday, played by him with members of the Münchner Philharmoniker: Hungarian Polyphony, Bassoon Quintet, Piccolo Quintet and Rhapsodie Macabre. [1]
| Hungarian Polyphony | |
|---|---|
| Opus | 25 |
| Performed | 1988 |
| Published | 1996 |
| Duration | 7 minutes |
| Movements | 1 |
| Scoring | string quartet |
Hungarian Polyphony, Op. 25, is a work in one movement, begun in 1984 as a trio for two violins and cello, revised in 1986 for string quartet. The Hungarian elements are Gypsy scales and Hungarian rhythms. Sergiu Celibidache suggested more revisions and arranged that it was to be performed at the 1988 Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival by members of the festival orchestra. The work was published by Hofmeister in Leipzig in 1996. It takes about 7 minutes to perform. [2]
Chinese Whispers in three movements was composed in 2010, [3] combining elements from the music of China with composition techniques of Western classical music. The work was awarded the "BCMS Composition Prize" of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society in 2011. [4]
| Prophetiae Sibyllarum | |
|---|---|
 Beginning of the motet by De Lassus which appears as movement three | |
| Based on | Motet by Orlande de Lassus |
| Performed | 22 April 2012 |
| Movements | 4 |
| Scoring | string quartet |
Prophetiae Sibyllarum (The Prophecies of the Sibyls) is a string quartet in four movements, first performed at the Gasteig in Munich on 22 April 2012. [5] The title is taken from a cycle of motets by Orlande de Lassus. The first motet of the cycle of the same name appears as the third movement and is the basis for the music.
| Alcatraz | |
|---|---|
| Performed | 11 November 2014 |
| Movements | 4 |
Alcatraz is a string quartet, inspired by Alcatraz Island. It was first performed on 11 November 2014 at Schloss Kempfenhausen in Berg, in a program of contemporary string quartets played by the Pelaar Quartet with the composer as the cellist. [6] [7] It was published by Klangmueller Musikverlag. [8]
| Crystallogenesis | |
|---|---|
| Performed | 1 July 2016 |
| Movements | 2 |
Crystallogenesis is in two movements, a slow and a fast one. It was inspired by the proliferation of crystals. It was first performed on 1 July 2016 at Schloss Kempfenhausen in Berg, played by the Pelaar Quartet with the composer as the cellist.
Alchymic Quartet is a string quartet in four movements composed in 2022. It was inspired by chemical experiments that the composer remembered from being a student at Highgate School with teacher Andrew Szydlo. It was first performed at concerts celebrating the composer's 60th birthday in November 2022, with Szydlo present. In one concert he conducted experiments at the same time. The music was played by the Philharmonisches Quartett München.
The Munich Fanny Mendelssohn String Quartet, Renate Eggebrecht 1st violin, Mario Korunic 2nd violin, Stefan Berg viola, Friedemann Kupsa violoncello, was founded in 1989 in the occasion of the performance and publication of Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel's String Quartet in E-flat major and Piano Quartet in A-flat major at the Gasteig/Munich.
Graham Waterhouse is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, Three Pieces for Solo Cello and Variations for Cello Solo for his own instrument, and string quartets and compositions that juxtapose a quartet with a solo instrument, including Piccolo Quintet, Bassoon Quintet and the piano quintet Rhapsodie Macabre. He has set poetry for speaking voice and cello, such as Der Handschuh, and has written song cycles. His compositions reflect the individual capacity and character of players and instruments, from the piccolo to the contrabassoon.
Gestural Variations, Op. 43, is a trio composition by Graham Waterhouse in 1997 originally for oboe, bassoon and piano. Later versions are scored for clarinet, cello and piano (1999) and flute, cello and piano (2009).
Piccolo Quintet is short for the Quintet op. 26 of Graham Waterhouse, composed in 1989 for piccolo and string quartet and published by Zimmermann in 2002 as Quintet for piccolo, 2 violins, viola and violoncello.
Jens Josef is a German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher.
The Bassoon Quintet is a quintet by Graham Waterhouse, composed in 2003 for bassoon and string quartet.
Lyndon Jeffrey Frank Watts is an Australian bassoonist. He is principal bassoonist of the Münchner Philharmoniker and an academic teacher.
Epitaphium is a composition for string trio by Graham Waterhouse. In 2007, after the death of his father William Waterhouse, he composed Epitaphium in Memoriam W.R.W. as a tribute to his memory.
Jörg Duda is a German composer of classical music.
Chinese Whispers is a composition for string quartet in three movements by Graham Waterhouse. Premiered in 2010, it combines elements from the music of China with composition techniques of Western classical music. Similar to the children's game, phrases change as they pass from part to part. The work was awarded the "BCMS Composition Prize" of the Birmingham Chamber Music Society in 2011.
Three Pieces for Solo Cello op. 28, is a composition for cello in three movements by Graham Waterhouse, dedicated to cellist Siegfried Palm in 1992. The composer, a cellist himself, wrote it to "exploit the characteristics" of his instrument. In 1996, a revised version won a composition prize and was performed at the Hochschule für Musik München. The work was published by the Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag in 1996 and recorded on a Portrait CD of chamber music in 2001.
Rhapsodie Macabre is a composition for piano and string quartet in one movement by Graham Waterhouse, written in 2011 as a homage to Franz Liszt. It was first performed at a Liszt festival of the Gasteig, Munich, with the composer playing the cello part.
Prophetiae Sibyllarum are a series of twelve motets by the Franco-Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus. The works are known for their extremely chromatic idiom.
Chieftain's Salute is a concerto in one movement for Great Highland Bagpipe and orchestra by Graham Waterhouse. The work is one of few to use the bagpipe with a classical orchestra. A version for bagpipe and string orchestra, Op. 34a, was composed in 2001. It is based on an earlier work for bagpipe and string quartet. Jacobean Salute was also derived from the early work, with a wind quintet replacing the bagpipe, published in 2003. A version for bagpipe and orchestra was composed and first performed in 2015.
Graham Waterhouse, cellist and composer especially of chamber music, has written a number of song cycles. As a cellist, he has used string instruments or a Pierrot ensemble instead of the typical piano to accompany a singer. In 2003 he composed a first cycle of songs based on late poems by Friedrich Hölderlin. In 2016, he set nursery rhymes, excerpts from James Joyce, and texts by Shakespeare. In 2017, he wrote settings of poems by Irish female writers, and in 2022 a cycle of Buddhist texts for mezzo-soprano, cello and piano.
Skylla and Charybdis is a 2014 composition for piano quartet by Graham Waterhouse, played in four movements without a break. The title refers to Scylla and Charybdis, two sea monsters from Greek mythology. In performances in German-speaking countries, it has also appeared in English surroundings as Between Scylla and Charybdis.
Praeludium (Prelude), Op. 32, is a piece for piano by Graham Waterhouse, composed in 1992 and published by Lienau in 2002. The virtuoso composition has been played in concert internationally, and was recorded.
Concentricities is a piano trio by Graham Waterhouse composed in 2019 for clarinet, cello and piano. It was premiered, with the composer as the cellist, at the Gasteig in Munich the same year. It was published by Schott Music.
Alchymic Quartet is a string quartet by Graham Waterhouse composed in 2022, inspired by chemical experiments of his teacher Andrew Szydlo at Highgate School. It was premiered in Gilching and Munich, in celebration of the composer's 60th birthday, with Szydlo attending and performing.
| Works |
|
|---|---|
| Related articles |
|
