String Quartet No. 2

Deutsch's work commissioned by the festival Wien Modern and premiered by the Arditti String Quartet at the end of 2012 is preceded by a motto of Jean Paul's fictitious balloonist Giannozzo. The composition, consisting of three movements merging into each other, is as overwhelmingly energetic and mercurial as this literary happy-go-lucky character. Clattering sounds are contrasted with whining glissandos or canonical pursuits. A virtuoso musical exploration, overflowing with ideas, of the space between heaven and earth, gravity and freedom. A CD recorded with Klangforum Wien has been released on the label Kairos (0013352KA).