Elliott Carter - String Quartet No. 4 (1986) [with score] 

"A preoccupation with giving each member of the performing group its own musical identity characterizes my String Quartet No. 4; thus mirroring the democratic attitude in which each member of a society maintains his or her own identity while cooperating in a common effort - a concept that dominates all my recent work. In this quartet, more than in others of my scores, a spirit of cooperation prevails. Each player’s part has its own musical materials and expressive character, and each participates in its own way in the four-part ensemble. While there are many changes of mood and speed and frequent pauses, the work is in one long, constantly changing movement. In the background, however, there is a suggestion of the traditional four-movement plan of the classical string quartet - Appassionato, Scherzando, Lendo, Presto.
String Quartet No. 4 is dedicated to the Composers String Quartet, who commissioned the score as one of a consortium made up of two others - the Sequoia and Thouvenel Quartets - that was financed in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. The score was composed during part of 1985-86 in New York City, Waccabuc, and at the American Academy in Rome. The Composers Quartet gave its premiere at Festival Miami on September 17, 1986." (Elliott Carter)
1. Appassionato
2. Scherzando (stesso tempo)
3. Lento (stesso tempo)
4. Presto