Georg Friedrich Haas, one of today’s most renowned composers, is often associated with the ‘spectralist’ school due to his detailed exploration of the inner workings of sound. Moreover his aesthetic sensitivities are quite exuberantly Romantic - expansive gestures, references to the beauty of older music, truth, fear, humanity and the unattainable are all important in his music. Following on from his ensemble work ‘In Vain’ (2000) the Third String Quartet (2001) continues his exploration of music performed in total darkness. The members of the string quartet are placed around the audience, casting a kind of sonic web over the performance space. Both the audience and performers must reinterpret the essence of the concert situation; there is freedom in surrendering your sight and hence your sense of safety, but you wander into unchartered territory with an enhanced sense of perception, judgment and cognition.
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