I quattro libri dell’architettura

Notes

The title refers to the treatise in architecture by Palladio. The subject of the piece is the architecture and grounds of the Neo-Palladian country house, Paxton House, which was celebrating its 250th anniversary year. The Keenan family lived in a cottage on these grounds from 1994 until 2007.

This is Keenan’s final work, written during the first year of Paul’s battle with multiple myeloma. Due to circumstances leading up to the performance, the work as Keenan composed it was not performed: a heavily changed version was presented instead. There is much investigation required to establish and reconstruct the work as Paul conceived it.

Performance Materials

All original materials are located in the RNCM Archives. Michael Beeston, then viola player of the Edinburgh String Quartet, very kindly returned to the family the materials used in performance sometime in the late 2000s. These, at the very least, offer a perspective on what was presented in July 2000.