Toshio Hosokawa's compositions for string quartet reveal manifold links with traditional Japanese arts: music, poetry, calligraphy, ink painting, and philosophy inspire him to compose his...

Toshio Hosokawa's compositions for string quartet reveal manifold links with traditional Japanese arts: music, poetry, calligraphy, ink painting, and philosophy inspire him to compose his works. His compositional esthetic is also influenced decisively by his relationship to nature.

Hosokawa has on occasion mentioned that the specific sounds in his string quartets are not only derived from the fertile ground of Asian spirituality, but also from the scores of western modern and avant-garde composers, declaring that it is not his intention to perpetuate divisions between Europe and Asia: “I would not like to emphasize the leaves and branches of the different kinds of music that have developed within the two spheres of eastern and western culture, but rather find the common aspects that exist in the roots out of which both have grown.”

The Arditti Quartet enjoys a world-wide reputation for their spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and earlier 20th century music. Many hundreds of string quartets and other chamber works have been written for the ensemble since its foundation by first violinist Irvine Arditti in 1974.