Bernard Rands (1934-Present)

Introduction
Rands, a British-American composer of contemporary classical music, was born in Sheffield, England. He has written everything from operas to solo instrumental works.

Work Analysis
I chose to analyze Rands Quartet #2. There are plenty of points of imitation as well as each instrument doing their own thing while finding common points to meet back together in the piece to create a deceiving resolution. It’s almost as if the instruments drift apart so far and then immediately come back together again. It keeps the musical flow of the piece going as well as making it interesting for the listener.

Comparisons
This piece reminds me of something that Bartok would have done. The way the different parts are written, they almost don’t seem like they fit, until they come together again to meet for a quick moment. It reminds me of Bartok because I know that Bartok really experimented with polytonality (not the same thing as what is presented here, but similar enough to mention).

Observations
I was a fan of this piece. I have written a string quintet before and I wish I had a better idea of this piece before writing mine. I can take away some aspects from this piece to use in my future endeavors as a composer. Overall, this piece is something I can listen to and draw ideas from as a musician with the way it is written and improve on my own writing and playing as well.