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Kurticus Music

The Music of Kurt M. Mehlenbacher

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Everchanging Light: String Quartet No. 4

for string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)

commissioned by the Phoenix Art Museum

This piece draws its inspiration from a light installation called Mohl ip by James Turrell. Shortly after its installation in the Phoenix Art Museum Contemporary Art wing, the museum commissioned a number of works, all for string quartet, as an unofficial commemoration to this sculpture.

As it was explained by the museum curator at the time, Mohl ip runs on a repeating cycle with a loop of approximately three hours. It does not turn on or off, and simply displays forever its persistent yet constant shifts of color.

Everchanging Light is much more structured than the appearance of Mohl ip. It runs in three movements, each focusing on a different primary color (pigment color, as it were), all within a motoric construct to give it the feel that it is constantly shifting and changing.