Helmut Lachenmann has created a unique sound world which he refers to as “instrumental musique concrete.” It is a world where the musical atom is not the note but the sound, which may be drawn from the instrument in all kinds of unusual ways.

Strange as the soundscape may be, Lachenmann believes that the fundamental principles of music are about finding shape and continuity, about revealing the unexpected and touching the familiar, and that the string quartet, in particular, is about conversation. Even through all the use of extended techniques, his is still a music of gestures, phrases, even melodies.

The JACK Quartet, specialists in new music, are the perfect performers for such repertoire. This recording is endorsed by the composer. Liner notes by Paul Griffiths.