# List of quarter tone pieces

A selection of compositions using quarter tones:

## Contents

* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* R
* S
* T
* W
* Y
* See also
* Notes
* Further reading

## A

* Thomas Adès
** Asyla calls for an upright piano tuned a quarter-tone flat.

## B

* Jan Bach
** Concert Variations for solo euphonium; "each variation is based on different performance techniques of the instrument, including quarter-tones"
* János Bali
** Aiolos ajándéka (Gift of Aiolos) for violin, viola da gamba (tuned 1/4 tone lower), harpsichord (upper manual tuned 1/4 tone lower)
* Clarence Barlow
** Çoǧluotobüsişletmesi for four pianos. "in which four of the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale are tuned a quarter tone flat"
** ...until' version 7 for guitar (1980).
* Hans Barth [fi]
** Concerto for Quarter Tone Piano and Quarter Tone Strings (1930)
* Béla Bartók
** String Quartet No. 6; the third movement Burletta contains quarter-tone tuning used for parodistic effect. Quarter tones are also used in Bartók's ballet The Miraculous Mandarin.
** Sonata for Solo Violin; the fourth movement Presto contains quarter-tones, but they are not "structural features." This movement also calls for third-tones.
** Violin Concerto No. 2; the cadenza in the first movement requires the use of quarter-tones, but only as an effect.
* John Beckwith
** Blurred Lines for violin and harpsichord (1997)
* Jack Behrens
** Quarter-Tone Quartet, Op. 20.
* Alban Berg
** Chamber Concerto, for violin, piano, and 13 winds.
* Luciano Berio
** E vó (1972).
* Easley Blackwood Jr.
** Twelve Microtonal Etudes for Electronic Music Media: "24 Notes: Moderato" (1980).
* Ernest Bloch
** Piano Quintet No. 1 (1923); the first movement features use of quarter-tones in the string parts.
* Pierre Boulez
** Polyphonie X (1951).
** Le Visage nuptial (1946).

## C

* Jacob Collier
** In the Bleak Midwinter for 10 Vocalists (2016)
* Julián Carrillo
** Capricho for piano in quarter-tones (1959)
** Capricho for solo viola in quarter-tones (1926)
** Casi-sonatas 1–6 for solo violin, viola or cello in quarter-tones (c.1960s)
** Concertino in quarter-, eighth- and sixteenth-tones for violin, cello and harp with orchestra (1926)
** Concerto for 1/4-tone and 1/8-tone cello and orchestra (1958)
** Concerto No. 1 for quarter-tone violin and orchestra (1963)
** Concerto No. 2 for quarter-tone violin and orchestra (1964)
** Mass for Pope John XXIII for male chorus in quarter-tones (1920s)
** Preludio a Colón for vocalizing soprano, octavina (modified bass guitar, in 8th tones), flute, 16th-tone harp, violin, and guitar (1922)
** Serenata for cello in quarter-tones with English horn, harp, and string quartet (1927)
** 70 estudios for solo violin in quarter-tones (c. 1927?) {also for solo viola, cello, or double-bass}
** Sonata for solo guitar in quarter-tones (c.1924)
** Sonata (Amanecer en Berlin 13) for solo harp in quarter-tones (1931)
** Sonata casi fantasia for violin, violoncello and guitar in quarter-, eighth- and sixteenth-tones (1925)
** String Quartet in quarter-tones (c.1924) {There are also 7 others with some using smaller intervals.}
** Suite for solo guitar in quarter-tones (1960)
** 3 estudios en forma de sonatina for solo violin in quarter-tones (1927)
** Symphony No. 1 (Colombia) for orchestra in quarter-tones (c.1924)
** Symphony No. 2 (Colombia) for orchestra in quarter-tones (1926)
* Aaron Copland
** Vitebsk (1928).
* John Corigliano
** Chiaroscuro for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart (1997)
* Mildred Couper
** Xanadu for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart (ca. 1930)
** Dirge for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart, published in New Music quarterly (January 1937)
** Rumba for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart (ca. 1937)

## D

* Jean-Jacques Débillemont
** Vercingétorix, cantata (1863, lost)
* John Diercks
** Reminiscences, 1971 for two pianos, one tuned a quarter-tone lower.

## E

* John Eaton
** Sonority Movement, for flute and nine harps.
* Danny Elfman
** Soundtrack score for A Simple Plan features "very specific quarter tone detunings coming off the Emulator".
* Don Ellis
** Electric Bath
* George Enescu
** Œdipe (opera)
** Third Violin Sonata ("In Popular Romanian Style")

## F

* Bjørn Fongaard
** Galaxe [Galaxy] (for three quarter-tone guitars), Opus 46.
* John Foulds
** Cello Sonata (1905, rev. 1927), passages in the second movement

## G

* Sofia Gubaidulina
** Quaternion for cello quartet, two of the cellos are tuned down a quarter tone
** Music for Flute, Strings, and Percussion, the strings are divided into two sections, one of which is tuned a quarter-tone lower than the other.

## H

* Sampo Haapamäki
** Velinikka, concerto for quarter-tone accordion (2008)
** Conception, double concerto for quarter-tone guitar, quarter-tone accordion and orchestra (2012)
** Quarter-Tone Piano Concerto (2017)
* Georg Friedrich Haas
** 3 Hommages, for piano player on two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart
*** "Hommage à Steve Reich" (1982)
*** "Hommage à György Ligeti" (1984)
*** "Hommage à Josef Matthias Hauer" (1982)
* Alois Hába
** Children's Play for unaccompanied youth chorus, Op.43 (1932)
** Chor-Suite for unaccompanied chorus, Op. 13 (1922)
** 5 Choruses for unaccompanied youth chorus, Op. 42 (1932)
** 5 Mixed Choruses, Op. 44 (1932)
** Detské nálady (Children's Moods), 8-song cycle for mid-ranged voice and quartertone guitar, Op.51 (1943)
** Fantasy No. 1 for quartertone piano, Op. 17 (1923)
** Fantasy No. 2 for quartertone piano, Op. 19 (1924)
** Fantasy No. 3 for quartertone piano, Op. 20 (1924)
** Fantasy No. 4 for quartertone piano, Op. 25 (1925)
** Fantasy No. 5 for quartertone piano, Op. 26 (1925)
** Fantasy No. 6 for quartertone piano, Op. 27 (1926)
** Fantasy No. 7 for quartertone piano, Op. 28 (1926)
** Fantasy No. 8 for quartertone piano, Op. 29 (1926)
** Fantasy No. 9 for quartertone piano, Op. 30 (1926)
** Fantasy No. 10 for quartertone piano, Op. 31 (1926)
** Fantasy No. 11 for quartertone piano, Op. 89 (1959)
** Fantasy for unaccompanied violin, Op. 9a (1921)
** Fantasy for unaccompanied violoncello, Op. 18 (1924)
** Fantasy for violin and quartertone piano, Op. 21 (1925)
** Fantasy for viola and quartertone piano, Op. 32 (1926)
** Fantasy for violoncello and quartertone piano, Op. 33 (1927)
** Já (I) for unaccompanied men's chorus, Op. 36 (1928)
** Matka (The Mother), quartertone opera in 10 scenes, Op. 35 (1927–29)
** Poesie zivota (Poetry of Life), 12-song cycle for soprano and quartertone guitar, Op. 53 (1943)
** Pracující den (The working day) for unaccompanied male voices, Op. 45 (1932)
** Solo for violin Op. 93 (1961–62)
** Sonata for quartertone piano, Op. 62 (1946–47)
** String Quartet No. 2 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 7 (1920)
** String Quartet 3 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 12 (1922)
** String Quartet 4 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 14 (1922)
** String Quartet 6 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 70 (1950)
** String Quartet No. 12 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 90 (1959–60)
** String Quartet 14 ("In quarter-tone system"), Op. 94 (1963)
** Suite No. 1 for quartertone piano, Op. 10 (1922, revised in 1932 as Op. 11a)
** Suite No. 2 for quartertone piano, Op. 11 (1922, revised in 1932 as Op. 11b)
** Suite No. 3 for quartertone piano, Op. 16 (1923)
** Suite No. 4 for quartertone piano, Op. 22 (1924)
** Suite No. 5 for quartertone piano, Op. 23 (1925)
** Suite No. 6 for quartertone piano, Op. 88 (1957–59)
** Suite for clarinet and quartertone piano, Op. 24 (1925)
** 1st Suite for quartertone guitar, Op. 54 (1943)
** 2nd Suite for quartertone guitar, Op. 63 (1947)
** Suite for clarinet (unaccompanied), Op. 55 (1943)
** Suite for quartertone trumpet and trombone, Op. 56 (1944)
** Suite in quartertones for 4 trombones, Op. 72 (1950)
* Fromental Halévy
** Prométhée enchaîné (1849)
* Jonathan Harvey
** Valley of Aosta for chamber ensemble of 13 players and electronics (1988)
* Lejaren Hiller
** String Quartet No. 5 (1962).
* Alan Hovhaness
** O Lord, Bless Thy Mountains, Op. 276, for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart (1974)

## I

* Charles Ives
** Three Quarter-Tone Pieces, for two pianos, one tuned a quarter-tone sharp, S. 128 (K. 3C3) (1923–24)
** Symphony No. 4 (1910–1924)

## K

* Jeronimas Kačinskas
** String Quartet No. 2 (1931) (lost? withdrawn?)
** Trio for trumpet, viola, and harmonium (1933)
* Gideon Klein
** Duo for violin and viola in the Quartertone System (1940)
* György Kurtág
** Lebenslauf, Op. 32 (1992)

## L

* Michael A. Levine
** Divination by Mirrors for Saw and Strings. Strings are divided into two groups of 13 tuned 1/4 step apart. Each group plays only in its own pitch "universe". The featured bowed saw freely moves from standard tuning to pitches a 1/4 step away. Premiered at Merkin Concert Hall, New York City, 1998 by the New York Virtuosi and Dale Stuckenbruck saw soloist.
* György Ligeti
** Clocks and Clouds for 12-voiced women's choir and orchestra.
** Quartet No. 2 for strings.
** Ramifications for 12 solo strings (1968–69), divided into two groups tuned a quarter-tone apart.
* Arthur Lourié
** Prelude for piano "with higher chromatism", Op.12 No.2 (1912).
* Alain Louvier
** Anneaux de Lumière (1983) for two pianos, one tuned a quarter-tone apart (1 player)

## M

* Drake Mabry [de; fr; nl]
** Street Cries (11.10.83) for solo B♭ clarinet features extensive use of quarter tones in all three movements.
* Henry Mancini
** Soundtrack score for Wait Until Dark (1967) features extensive use of quarter-tones including two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart
** The Night Visitor
* Steve Mackey
** Indigenous Instruments
** On All Fours
* Andrew March
** Aeolian Rustling (2001) for alto flute (Boehm system) and harp, with Kingma System alto flute ossia.
** XXIX—in Perpetuum (2001) for solo Kingma System quarter-tone alto flute.
** Water Lilies (2001) for solo alto flute and harp, with Kingma System quarter-tone alto flute ossia.
** Memoriam (2002) for Kingma System quarter-tone alto flute, vibraphone, marimba, harp and strings.
* Rytis Mažulis
** Quartertone Canon for two piano tuned a quarter-tone apart (2010)
** Sans Pause for string quartet (2001)
* Olivier Messiaen
** Deux monodies en quarts de ton (1938).

## N

* Per Nørgård
** String Quartet No. 5 'Inscape' (1969)

## O

* Frank J. Oteri
** Circles Mostly in Wood, a quarter-tone wind quintet in five movements (2002)
** Fair and Balanced, a quarter-tone saxophone quartet in four short movements (2004)

## P

* Krzysztof Penderecki
** Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima, for string orchestra, frequently makes use of quarter tones.

## R

* Karel Reiner
** Fantasy for quarter-tone piano (1935-36)
** Five songs for voice with violin accompaniment in quarter-tones to texts by Karel Hynek Mácha (1936, performed at the 1938 ISCM Festival in Paris)
** 3 Duos for 2 quarter-tone clarinets (1972)
** Suite for quarter-tone piano (1935-36)
* Milan Ristić
** Duo for violin and violoncello, Op. 11 (1938)
** Septet for clarinet, 2 trombones, string trio, and doublebass, Op. 9 (1938)
** Suite for unaccompanied violin, Op. 6 (1938)
** Suite for ten strings, Op. 10 (1938)
** Suite for four trombones, Op. 8 (1938, scheduled for performance during the 1939 ISCM Festival in Warsaw but the performance could not take place)

## S

* Ezra Sims
** String Quartet No. 3 (1962)
* Richard Stein
** Zwei Konzertstücke, Op. 26, 1906.
* Karlheinz Stockhausen
** Pietà, for soprano, quarter-tone flugelhorn, and electronic music, from the opera Dienstag aus Licht
** Schlagquartett, for piano and 3 x 2 timpani (1952)
* Billy Strange
** These Boots Are Made for Walkin', 1966 popular song, sung by Nancy Sinatra, with a prominent quarter tone double bass riff.

## T

* Tōru Takemitsu
** Bryce (1976).
* James Tenney
** Bridge for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart (1984)
* Jukka Tiensuu
** Kymmari for Decacorde (2016)
** Anomal Dances Concerto for quarter-tone accordion and orchestra (2015)
** Kuuhiomo a proludi in quarter tones for any ensemble of melody instruments (2015)
** Arsenic and Old Lace for micro-tonally tuned harpsichord, string quartet (1990)
** Narcissus for oboe and tape (1979)
* Tui St. George Tucker
** Amoroso for solo clarinet
** Indian Summer for 2 baritones with 2 flutes, clarinet, bassoon, trombone, viola, and percussion
** Little Pieces for quarter-tone piano
** My Melancholy Baby Fantasy for one player performing on two pianos at a right angle tuned a quarter-tone apart
** Quartertone Carol for recorder trio
** Quartertone Recorder Duets
** Quartertone Lullubies 1–3 for recorder trio
** Romanza for solo recorder.
** Sarabande: Dance for Miriam Cooper, for microtonal harpsichord (1986)
** Sonata No. 1 for Solo Recorder ("The Bullfinch").

## W

* Craig Walsh
** String Quartet No. 1 "Ganga" (2010)
* Ivan Wyschnegradsky
** Ainsi Parlait Zarathoustra, for four pianos two of which are tuned a quarter-tone sharp, Op. 17 (1929–1930, revised 1936)
** 2 Chants sur Nietzsche, for baritone & 2 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 9 (1923)
** Chant douloureux et étude, for violin and piano, Op. 6 (1918)
** Composition, for string quartet, Op. 43 (1960)
** Cosmos, for 4 pianos in quarter tones, Op. 28 (1939–1940)
** Dialogue, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart, eight hands, W.o.O. (1959)
** Dithyrambe, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart, Op. 12 (1923–1924)
** Études sur les mouvements rotatoires, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart, eight hands, Op. 45a.; for chamber orchestra, Op. 45c (1961)
** Études sur les densités et les volumes, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart, Op. 39b (1956)
** Fragment symphonique No. 1, for four pianos two of which are tuned a quarter-tone sharp, Op. 23a; for orchestra, Op. 23c (1934, orch. vers. 1967)
** Fragment symphonique No. 2, for four pianos two of which are tuned a quarter-tone sharp, timpani & percussions, Op. 24 (1937)
** Fragment symphonique No. 3, for four pianos two of which are tuned a quarter-tone sharp & ad. lib. percussions, Op. 31 (1946)
** Prélude et Fugue, Op. 21, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart (1932)
** Préludes dans tous les tons de l'échelle chromatique diatonisée à 13 sons, Op. 22, for two pianos tuned a quarter-tone apart (1934, revised 1960)
** String Quartet No. 1, Op. 13 (1923–1924)
** String Quartet No. 2, Op. 18 (1930–1931)
** String Trio, Op. 53 (1979, unfinished, completed by Claude Ballif)
** Variations sans thème et conclusion (five), for orchestra, Op. 33 (1951–52)

## Y

* Eugène Ysaÿe
** Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 (1924), Nos. 3 and 5