LO-06: Randomness

I looked into the String Quartet by Witold Lutoslawski, a randomly determined piece made in the 20th century style of aleatoricism, a composition style where elements of the score and performance are left to chance. Many of the rhythms and articulations of the piece are left up to chance, such as repetition until the audience is quiet, or determining tempo through counting seconds. An analysis of the score shows it to be very complex, with new music notations such as wavy lines as beams and instructions on the score. It appears to be chaotic and disjointed but various elements of the score show that it is heavily dependent on communication by the members of the quartet, with synchronized exits and entrances. Repetitions are also determined by the members of the quartet or the audience. Lutoslawski experienced great repression of his work by the Soviet Union, with some of his pieces being banned for “inaccessibility”. However, he only lived in the USSR as he was forced out of Poland by World War II. His music, I believe, reflects these challenges but also acknowledges order and stability in dark times, when each part comes together to create flowing soundscapes and peaceful silence.