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Note from the composer:

Scoring Yaron Zilbermans A Late Quartet was an appealing and challenging musical opportunity. At first, I was drawn to the tremendous cast who were so obviously capable of delivering the well-wrought screenplay. But there was more to it than that. The film is about the members of a world-renowned string quartet, and how their personal and work relationships develop as they prepare for an upcoming anniversary concert. Here was a story I could relate to; my life is a musical life. As the story unfolds, we learn of static within the ensemble love, sickness, insecurity, betrayal, and personal growth. Its a story about their interconnected lives. But Yaron Zilbermans film is about Beethovens masterpiece as much as its about the experiences of the players who interpret it. They are equals. The everyday lives of these four musicians (The Fugue) are steeped in this music. They are constantly striving to live up to the greatness of the work.

Upon viewing the first cut, I met with Yaron and asked for his feelings on what the score should evoke. He simply said three words, Pain, pain and pain. I replied, I can give you pain together with understated beauty. From the outset we were on the same page. I composed several themes and a fugue to help serve the drama, and to complement the classical pieces we hear in the film. As a counterbalance to the on-screen string quartet, I came up with the idea of enhancing the score with woodwinds. To me, these instruments would represent the individual voices of our characters but in an abstract way. Yaron thinks of the winds as the souls of our characters and I like that very much. It was a joy to be a part of the creative team on A Late Quartet, to work with Yaron and watch him deliver this profound musical drama to audiences around the world.

Angelo Badalamenti