Although his Signifying Riffs (1998) for percussion and strings is halfway there, String Quartet 1.5: Experiments in Living (2016) is the first proper string quartet by composer George Lewis. Borrowing its title from the writings of John Stuart Mill, Experiments in Living leads the performers through a series of idiosyncratic episodes featuring extremes of gesture and extended technique over the course of a single, 16-minute movement.

Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation, String Quartet 1.5: Experiments in Living was composed for Spektral Quartet, who gave the premiere performance in October 2016 at Chicago’s Harris Theater. This set of score and parts has been made available for sale by Edition Peters as part of the Peters Contemporary Chamber Series and includes full performance notes. Chopsticks and superball mallets are required to achieve some of the score’s percussive playing techniques.

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