IN SEARCH OF “THE MORE IMPORTANT” IN STRING QUARTET NO. 1 BY DIETER ACKER

Abstract

Dieter Acker’s String Quartet No. 1 represents a turning point in the composer’s output, being an opus composed in his last year of study in Sigismund Toduță’s composition class (1964) and one which brought him international recognition, winning second prize at the 1966 Prague Spring International Festival. This study presents biographical, historical, and analytical aspects of the work which are reflected in its musical structure, revealing both a respect for the historical tradition of past centuries and the search for new orientations of the musical avant-garde. Through arguments related to the biography of the young Dieter Acker, trained under Franz Xaver Dressler and Sigismund Toduță, the study presents the unity of meaning and content that is directly reflected in String Quartet No. 1.

Keywords

• Dieter Acker, String Quartet No. 1, Sigismund Toduță, Anton Webern reception, Palindrome