Robert Carls String Quartet No.3, Spatial/temporal, Abstract/Visceral, Transcendent/Humane will be premiered on September 24, 2023 at 4 PM in the HARPA Nordlujs Hall, Reykjavik, Iceland. The performers are QuartetES, an international ensemble based in both the US and Iceland. The work was written for the group, and completed during the pandemic. The composer writes:
My third string quartet consists of two substantial movements, encasing a brief and mysterious interlude. The first, "Point/Line/Plane", takes its inspiration from the painter Vassily Kandinsky, one of the most important pioneers of 20th century abstract art. I've always loved his color palette, gestural vocabulary, and sense of form that emerges from spontaneity. I've tried to find musical analogues for these elements. In the final movement, "The Guests at the Party", I envisioned the four instruments as four people, each with their own life-course leading to the party. They progress through a series of life-stages: Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, and Maturity. Finally, they meet at the party. I hope the piece covers a wide range of life and aesthetic experience, and leads listeners to draw surprising connections.