I was just browsing the Guardian’s Music section when I came across this article written by Toby Deller on the dynamics between players in a string quartet and what happens when one of the players moves on. The issues it raises are strangely apt for me at the moment, as my plans for starting a new quartet are starting to take shape and evolve into something more concrete – really exciting but I can’t say more a this moment!
I’m also currently reading Vikram Seth’s book An Equal Music, which is about the players in a fictional quartet called the Maggiore Quartet, and the complex personal and musical relationships between the players (if you scroll down to the bottom of the article to the comments, the second one mentions the book!). I’m about half way through it; initially, I wasn’t that keen on it as I didn’t find the descriptions of rehearsals and more technical details very convincing*, but now that I’m further into it the personalities are becoming more central to the plot and I’m really enjoying it…
*Wikipedia informs me that Seth himself is not a musician, but the book was inspired by his then partner, the French violinist Philippe Honoré, which perhaps explains this
A viola player writes... 