An Analysis On String Quartets Of Hans Werner Henze

Hans Werner Henze (born on July 1,1926, Germany), one of the greatest German composers who has been consistently active and of prodigious output in 20th century modern music records. Over more than sixty years, his music is extremely varied in style, including symphony, concerto, opera, ballet, oratorio, and chamber music, having been influenced by Neo-classical, serialism, atonality and Stage drama, as well as traditional schools of German composition as well as his legendary life. Early works of Henze takes on a clear neoclassical face while Anton Webern style can be easily found in the following years. In 1960s, radical political convictions of Henze leads to harshness, magnificence and combativeness in his works. It is not until late twenties does Henze express his hope for a new and peaceful life in the unique and impressive music style and composing techniques.The total five string quartets have been finished over thirties years, in accordance with the development track of Henze music language. The unusual composing period as well as the unique music style of these complete string quartets excel Henze in his chamber music composition."It is almost impossible to find traits that are exclusive to Henze's'chamber music'. There is only one 'cycle' of chamber works,the five quartets, and unlike the quartets of, say, Tippett, these do not have a natural progression. Henze freely admits to having lost any memory of the first two until they were revived and recorded in the mid-eighties by the Arditti Quartet. This is not a composer medium, by, comparison with his extraordinary involvement with large scale operatic and orchestral works. He is, however, powerfully aware that there is a particular canonic tradition which demands a different mindset, for composer and performer. It is difficult to draw the line where this tradition ceases to apply to his music. "1Unlike the peculiar and bizarre expression of other modern arts, Henze, originated from and inspired by traditional music, well combines the classical ingredients with wayward elements which as a consequence has produced an extraordinary music language, in harmony with the romanticism as well as the modernism.It would be attributed to the special composing concepts of Henze, as well as his no-genre uniqueness, which excel the five String Quartets for an academic research by the author. The complete five quartets, from the original simplicity to a more complicated and magnificent style in his fifth one, have gradually exhibited the hardship Henze has been through for a harmonious combination of traditional ideas with modern language. The audience, fortunately, will be shocked by the living sincerity of the composer while being impressed by the individual charm vividly.By contrast and comparison, this article aims to give an analysis on the String Quartets of Henze from the perspective of composing techniques by the means of literal explanation with the assistance of sheet music, so that the extraordinary composing concepts and composing techniques of Henze can be well presented. Part One gives a brief introduction of the composer and has provided the background information for the composition of the quartets; Part Two, being divided into seven chapters to illustrate the composing techniques of the composer, is the main part of this article, respectively from Pitch Structure, Harmony, Rhythm as well as Polyphony Idea; Part Three, an analysis on musical structure and a structural synopsis for each movement of the five string quartets. The last part, in the end, on the condition of the above analysis and summary on the composing techniques and characteristics of Henze, expresses the edification and enlightenment of the author and an eternal truth all musicians are looking after for life.