University of York Music Press

Richard Causton describes the virtuosity in one of these, Croquis for string trio (1978-9), as 'volatile, sinuous and intense, in response to the performing temperament of the members of the Arditti String Quartet for whom it was written. When recently I asked Dale Roberts whether his views on virtuosity had changed since composing these pieces, his reply (characteristically) invoked the other arts; this time with a quotation from Constantin Brancusi...: "The arts have never existed by themselves (outside of folklore); they have always been a prerogative of the religious, and every time religion has been in decline, art has fallen into virtuosity. To make art which is truly independent, one must be God to create it, a king to order it, and a slave to realise it."'