Kenneth Dempster

Under the Hammer (1994)

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Kenneth Dempster

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Commissioned by Emperor String Quartet.
First performance:
Emperor Quartet, Purcell Room, London, 24 Mar 1994

Work Details

Category: chamber quartet string
Duration: 11'
Instrumentation: 2 Vn Va Vc

SMC Holdings

   Recording BBC (off air recording) : Emperor String Quartet / location: sound archive - C-XZ 275 a [enquire]
   Recording Mirabilis MRCD961 : Saltire Quartet / location: sound archive - GREEN [buy]
   Score : unpublished / Location: ref library   [buy]
   Part(s) : unpublished / Location: MS collection   [enquire]

 View performance history...

The Emperor Quartet offered a welcome chance to hear Kenneth Dempster's Under the Hammer. This is a beautiful work. This is engrossing music eschewing fireworks in favour of compelling argument.
Scotsman

Kenneth Dempster's quartet, Under the Hammer, which features on the Saltire Quartet's new CD of the same name, is a major piece. The pungent outer sections of the quartet, shot through with evocative hammer swings and folk music echoes, embrace a relective centre that is the soul of the work.
Herald