Matter_Form_Function for String Quartet

Houston We Have a Podcast: Ask An Astronaut On Our Anniversary

	
On episode 393, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 quartet each dive into their paths to space and what lies ahead aboard the International Space Station. 

Houston We Have a Podcast: Crew-11

World Premiere, 7.17.25
Jennifer Gersten, violin
Hannah A. Barnes, electronics
Scholes Street Studio, Brooklyn

“Caminante, no hay caminos, hay que caminar.”
—anonymous inscription on a Spanish monastery
“In my beginning is my end.... In my end is my beginning. —T.S. Eliot, “East Coker”
The paths one takes are rarely, if ever, clear and straightforward. clouded winding paths reflects upon the above mantra, which has guided me for several years, as well upon as the circumstances surrounding the composition of the piece and the physical recovery of both myself (before the composition) and my collaborator, Jennifer Gersten. After an injury necessitated a drastic change in how Jennifer played the violin (taking up an improvisation practice with the violin on her lap), creating uncertainty around performance possibilities, I was eager to continue this collaborative project, finding a connection between her situation and my own years of chronic scoliosis-related back pain as a young woman.
Before intensive physical therapy, which led to significant and lasting positive change, I had to adapt and limit certain activities for years as a teenager and young adult. In clouded winding paths, I took an adaptive approach to violin writing, which led to certain discoveries in our collaboration that I would not have found otherwise—wispy harmonic sounds that come from inserting a knitting needle between the strings; or different approaches to overpressure or molto sul tasto bowing that are only possible with the violin positioned horizontally; and so on. As Jennifer was able to return to playing in the “traditional” position, in the finished piece, these adaptive materials are present in the electronics, which augment or contrast with what takes place in the live violin. This adaptive playing also influenced materials and development in the “traditional” position, which is modulated by the filtering and delays within the live electronics.
At the heart of the piece is a complex network of material and textural relationships, which includes polyphony between the solo violin and its fixed electronic counterpart. Materials and structures that are created and used in rigorous manners (including a thirteen-note microtonal tone row) come into contact with messy, unpredictable materials and processes. While some of these paths were determined at the outset, many were illuminated along the compositional process and could not have been anticipated at the origin of the journey.
clouded winding paths, which pays homage to Luigi Nono, was composed for and is dedicated to Jennifer Gersten. It is a cousin to my piece for electric guitar, Negative Capability (2020).
— HAB

Poster/thumbnail design by Jennifer Gersten.
All fixed media recordings by Jennifer Gersten.

clouded winding paths (2025, world premiere)

The Hubble Space Telescope has changed humanity’s understanding of the universe. Now in orbit for 35 years, it remains a remarkable feat of engineering.

Small Steps, Giant Leaps: Episode 159: Hubble: An Engineering Marvel

	
On episode 394, NASA’s Artemis II Flight Director Jeff Radigan shares what it takes to lead the first human mission of the Artemis program around the Moon. 

Houston We Have A Podcast: Artemis II The Mission

On episode 395, USACE Chief Historian John Lonnquest shares the legacy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and their role in building NASA’s spaceflight infrastructure. 

Houston We Have A Podcast: Constructing NASA Infrastructure

Desde su órbita alrededor de nuestro planeta, el telescopio espacial Hubble de la NASA ha sido un ojo incansable que mira hacia lo más profundo de nuestro universo desde hace más de tres décadas. Sus hallazgos no solo han revolucionado nuestra comprensión del cosmos; también nos han acercado a él de manera íntima. La astrofísica Rosa Díaz nos acompaña en un recorrido de esta misión emblemática desde el Centro de Control de Operaciones de Hubble.

El telescopio de la gente: 35 años de imágenes de Hubble

"Selenetrope" is a short study on bow nuance and timbral shading. Composed over three days during the 2025 Darmstadt Summer Courses in close collaboration with violinist Karl Jõrgi, the miniature explores fragile, unstable materials at the threshold of sounding. I want to express my gratitude to Karl for his fantastic collaboration and sensitive playing, and to mentors Rebecca Saunders and Sarah Saviet for both creating the environment for this collaboration as well as providing guidance on detail and notation.
-- HAB

*Headphones recommended; any background noise is part of the Darmstadt Experience.

31 July 2025
Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
Karl Jõgi, violin

Matter_Form_Function for String Quartet

Alec Dickson - Composer

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