ALL WORKS

String Quartet No. 5 (Behind Rainbows)

Commissioned by Kronos Quartet/Kronos Performing Arts Association (KPAA), the San Francisco-based non-profit organization of the Kronos Quartet, for 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire, a string quartet commissioning, performance, education, and legacy project of unprecedented scope and potential impact. Kronos Quartet commissioned Alexandra du Bois' 1st, 3rd, and 5th string quartets. "Drawing on more than 45 years of collaboration with prominent and emerging composers from around the world, Kronos is commissioning...Read more

03 February, 2015
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String Quartet No.4: Obala (2016)

Commissioned by the Apollo Chamber Players
World premiere scheduled for April 2016, Houston, Texas
Introduction: Out of sea-mist, in medias res
(Aria: Adagio lugubre)
I. Istria: Hrvatska Obala (Croatian Coast)
(Rondo: Allegro assai)
II. Uspavankas (Lullabies)
(Waltz: Larghetto cantabile) (attacca)
III. Dalmatian Hinterland
(Scherzo: Allegro pesante con fuoco) (attacca)
IV. Tempo di Gusle
(Finale: Presto all’ungherese) ...Read more

03 February, 2015
String Quartet No.3: Night Songs (Nachtliederen) (2005)

Commissioned by Kronos Quartet
Inspired by the life and writing of young Dutch writer and Holocaust victim Etty Hillesum (1914-1943)
In creative preparation for writing the quartet, Alexandra du Bois traveled throughout The Netherlands and Poland after receiving grants from The Netherland-America Foundation and Indiana University to travel in the footsteps of Etty Hillesum
World premiere: March 2006, Kronos Quartet, Dinkelspiel Auditorium at Stanford University, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall...Read more

03 February, 2015
String Quartet No 2: Quartet of Images (2003)
(quartettsatz)

World premiere: February 2004, Kuttner Quartet, Indiana University’s String Quartet-In-Residence; Shin-Young Kwon, Eriko Tsuchihashi, violins, Daniel Stewart, viola, Jocelyn Butler, cello, Ford Hall at the Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington, Indiana; New York Premiere: 2008, Arbor Mundi Music Ensemble’s Miranda Cuckson, Boris Kupesic, violins, Diane Leung, viola, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir, cello, The Stone, New York City
Score/parts available...Read more

03 February, 2015
Oculus pro oculo totum orbem terrae caecat (An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind) (2003)
for string quartet (String Quartet No.1)

Commissioned by the Kronos Quartet as part of the first Kronos: Under 30 Project
World premiere: April 2003, Kronos Quartet, Spaulding Auditorium at the Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; Detroit Premiere: 2007, New Music Detroit, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit; New York Premiere: 2008, JACK Quartet, Carnegie Hall; Los Angeles and Hanoi, Vietnam premieres: 2010, Southwest Chamber Music
Commercial Release: 2013, Kronos Quartet, Judith Sherman, producer, recorded at...Read more

03 February, 2015
Indlovu: Piano Quintet “The Elephant” (2013)
for piano, violin, viola, cello and double bass

Commissioned by the Savannah Music Festival World premiere: March 2013, Simon Crawford-Phillips, piano, Benny Kim, violin, Carla Maria Rodrigues, viola, Camden Shaw, cello, Joseph Conyers, double bass, Lucas Theatre, Savannah, Georgia. Dedicated to family friend Timothy O’Brien (1957-2012) and elephant whisperer Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) I. Altocumulus lacunosus: Boundaries (Adagio) II. Cumulus humilis: Interlude (Andante) III. Cumulonimbus: Journeys (Allegro) IV. Altocumulus castellanus - cirrus castellanus: Memories (Larghetto) V. Cirrostratus fibratus: Sunshowers and cumulonimbus (Andante) VI. Altocumulus lenticularis: Memorials...Read more

03 February, 2015
Photo ©Alexandra du Bois; Kamp Westerbork, the Netherlands (2004)
Night Songs (Nachtliederen) (2005 original) (2007 arrangement)
arranged for woodwind quintet (2007)

Original version for string quartet commissioned and premiered by Kronos Quartet. Arrangement for woodwind quintet commissioned by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City
World premiere: May 2007 throughout public schools in New York, Brooklyn and the Bronx Score/parts available Night Songs (Nachtliederen), String Quartet No. 3 (2005) I. Ontvouwen (Unfolding) II. Lente en Zomer (Spring and Summer) III. Stacheldraht (Barbed wire) IV. Het Denkende Hart (The Thinking Heart) V. Niet Verzonden Brieven (Unsent Letters) VI. Zoeklicht...Read more

03 February, 2015