IMSLP Forums

Any addition of string quartets by John Blackwood McEwen would be most welcome - especially those with parts. We have only four of his 17 quartets, and only two have parts. He is a criminally underappreciated composer, so it would be great to see more of him. Anyone?

Yoj

hrm. I think there's a list of his quartets together with at least one of the Chandos releases of same, though I suspect it probably gives composition dates or publication dates or both willy-nilly, whereas what we need for the purpose is publication dates, and which are still in manuscript, &c... Hrm.

It does -not- make things easier that Chandos' numbering system for the quartets is not that in which they were published, btw (so they call Biscay "No.6", but it was published as "No.8", e.g. ...)

We have 4,8,9, "Nugæ". I see from Worldcat that a quartet in A minor was published in 1903 - I'm guessing that this is the one Chandos records' cycle calls Quartet No.2 in A minor (1898, pub.1903). If anyone has a copy there's no reason I can think of why that couldn't be uploaded...

Staying with quartets that are public domain in the United States (for the moment), there's one called "Le Phare" that was published in 1918; and aside from that, the 1903 quartet, and the 4 we have, that -may- be all the ones given their first publication before 1923.

Ones that would be public domain in Canada, I think, include
* The Suite of Old National Dances for quartet or string orch. in 3 Groups (pub. by Joseph Williams, 1924 or 1925)
* String Quartet in B minor (pub. Schott, 1927 or 1929)
* String Quartet in E minor (1927, pub. 1937)
* String Quartet in C minor (pub.1937)
* "A Little Quartet" (pub.1938)
* 3 Winter Poems for quartet (pub.1948)