music for strings is built entirely around the physical behaviour of bowed strings.

Ryoji Ikeda announces music for strings, a suite of new works for string nonet and duo, now out on vinyl through The Vinyl Factory.

Three works written between 2020 and 2023, commissioned by Ensemble Modern, Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, and DTzM, music for strings is built entirely around the physical behaviour of bowed strings.

“In 2016, I had a series of audiovisual concerts at a festival in Kyoto. Ensemble Modern from Frankfurt was there, performing a large piece by Heiner Goebbels. We became friends, and years later, in 2021, they commissioned me to create a new piece for their 2023 season,” Ikeda explains.

“Through a workshop with their players, I decided to focus exclusively on strings”.

REFLECTION [for string nonet], op.13 has all nine players locked into a seven-eight rhythm, but staggered so the parts seem to answer each other.

PRISM [for string nonet], op.14 takes the idea of white light splitting into a spectrum and applies it to sound, with Ikeda working through almost the entire pitch range of the ensemble, pulling out clusters of notes the way a prism pulls out colour.

MIRROR [one for two], op.12 is built on a sheet of music where the staff notation is mirrored, allowing it to be read simultaneously from both the normal and opposite directions. As a result, two players share the single notation, performing together while reading it in opposite directions.

“For many years, I had ideas for MIRROR [one for two] that exists only as a dream. It seems simple, but it is extremely difficult to make sense of due to its very restricted rule. At the start, I decided to tackle this piece,” says Ikeda.

“Another dream of mine was to form a string ensemble arranged linearly on stage. Usually players perform in a semicircular formation to see each other. A linear formation, however, denies this visual connection. The challenge was implemented with PRISM [for string nonet] and REFLECTION [for string nonet].”

Performed by Ensemble Modern and recorded by SWR, the work premiered in Amsterdam on 8 February 2024, and reaches its UK premiere at the Barbican on 20 February 2026.

Order music for strings on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl from The Vinyl Factory now.

Tracklist

Side A

1. REFLECTION [for string nonet], op.13 (2022–23) [13:24]
2. MIRROR [one for two], op.12 (2020–23): I. for 2 violins [3:51]
3. MIRROR [one for two], op.12 (2020–23): II. for 2 violins [3:26]

Side B

1. PRISM [for string nonet], op.14 (2023) [14:35]
2. MIRROR [one for two], op.12 (2020–23): III. for 2 violas [6:30]

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