Paramyth 1–3 is a string quartet cycle that was commissioned by various festivals over the years, including the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music, the Arcana Festival and Wien Modern. It was composed for three different quartets: JACK Quartet, MIVOS Quartet and Arditti Quartet. From the beginning, composer Clemens Gadenstätter envisioned the individual pieces as part of a cycle. A few years after the separate works initially premiered, the full cycle was finally performed in its entirety by the Arditti Quartet. The three Paramyth compositions – häuten, schlitzen and reißen – each shed light on well known experiences, accessibly for all of us, and how they can be intensified and trasformed through art.

Clemens Gadenstätter (b. 1966) studied composition in Vienna and Stuttgart under Helmut Lachenmann. He is currently a Professor of Analysis, Music Theory and Composition at the University of Music in Graz. Gadenstätter’s focus is the compositional “resynthesis” of sensations, which brings together the triad of listening, understanding and composing. Recently, his work has explored the transformation of acoustically triggered, preformed sensations (such as in his series E. P. O. S.: les premiers cris, les cris des lumières, les derniers cris for various ensembles) and dealt with the concept of the banal (see the pieces Semantical Investigations 1 & 2 and the essay Was heißt hier banal [What does banal really mean?]), with the polymodality of listening (häuten, schlitzen, reißen – Paramyth 1–3 for string quartet, ES for voice and ensemble, etc.), as well as musical iconography (the series ICONOSONICS 1–3). His larger works, including daily transformations for voice, ensemble, electronics, text and film, with Lisa Spalt (lyrics) and Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck (film), take a multimedia approach to these concepts.

Gadenstätter’s work has been commissioned by: Donaueschinger Musiktage, der Jahrhunderte – Stuttgart, WDR – Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, Wien Modern, ORF / RSO, Musik-Biennale Berlin, Salzburg Festival, Salzburg Biennale, Steirischer Herbst, Ultima – Oslo and others.

The Arditti Quartet has an outstanding reputation worldwide for its lively and nuanced interpretation of contemporary and 20th-century compositions. Since its foundation by violinist Irvine Arditti in 1974, several hundred string quartets have been composed for the ensemble. Many of these works have become integral to the repertoire of contemporary music and have given the Arditti Quartet a firm place in music history. The breadth of its repertoire is demonstrated by its premieres of composers such as Thomas Adès, Georges Aperghis, Harrison Birtwistle, John Cage, Elliott Carter, Hugues Dufourt, Pascal Dusapin, Brian Ferneyhough, Luca Francesconi, Ashley Fure, Sofia Gubaidulina, Jonathan Harvey, Toshio Hosokawa, Mauricio Kagel, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, György Ligeti, Conlon Nancarrow, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Wolfgang Rihm, Giacinto Scelsi, Salvatore Sciarrino, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Jennifer Walshe and Iannis Xenakis.

The ensemble works closely with composers as they develop each piece, as it believes this is essential for the interpretation of modern music. The four Arditti Quartet members also teach masterclasses for young performers and composers across the globe.