Last year, while traveling to Berlin to hear the Berlin Philharmonic perform, I met Knut Weber, their principal cellist. He was the one who suggested the possibility of writing a piano quartet. I was once again faced with something to explore that I knew absolutely nothing about, so of course I immediately agreed. Having only recently finished the violin concerto, I was much more relaxed with diving into what was, for me, more uncharted territory. The idea of writing a string quartet was intimidating, as I’m so infatuated by the string quartets of Shostakovich – but the presence of a piano gave me a bit more confidence, and I loved the freedom that the genre provides. The only thought I had going into it was the intriguing idea of thematic variations on the familiar children’s schoolyard taunt: “Nya, nya, nya, nya nya…” I wasn't aware of anyone doing that before before and thought would be fun. It was. You can hear it in the second movement of the quartet, “Kinderspott”. It was a great pleasure writing my first quartet for such wonderful musicians.
I hope you enjoy what I’ve done.
© Danny Elfman