Writing my first string quartet and this is my calculated approach into composing for them. I took inspiration from Leos Janacek’s Kreutzer Sonata. The piece captured my interest with its harmonies as well as its aesthetic. My draft is far from a performable piece, but I’m using this technique of composing to capture the look of Janacek’s piece.
While writing this I didn’t focus on any note or pitch (besides starting on G), but rather each system’s aesthetics. If you look at Kreutzer Sonata without any prior musical training, you’ll still notice that the score looks good even from an artist’s perspective. Composing with this in mind, I tried focusing only on a system’s beauty. Each melodic line has a unique shape, with harmony between voices that creates a picture, with color, texture, and intensity such as a piece of visual art.