From the writing of his first quartet, 21 years were to pass before Bruno Strobl ventured to compose a second one. Inspired by the Koehne Quartet's interpretation, it was also written for them. The original was created as a kind of conclusion to a personal phase in which the composer had repeatedly occupied himself with Zen - without practising it strictly. The first string quartet, which concludes the cycle and lasts almost twice as long as the others, begins succinctly with overtone melodies developed from a single tone. It flows along calmly, you can hear the instruments' entrances and exits, delicate contrasts, interjections, comments, shimmering, quick, brief gestures, pauses. But also: movement, development, dynamic build-ups, sharp edges. The listener is given a Koan for this meditative piece: "The seamless pagoda can already be seen."
