‘Chess studies’ for String Quartet: Composition based on chess

Alberto Hortigüela; Sara Carvalho

doi:10.33871/vortex.2025.13.9479

Authors

Alberto Hortigüela Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte / INET-md | Portugal
Sara Carvalho Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte / INET-md | Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33871/vortex.2025.13.9479

Keywords:

Music Composition, Chess, Magic Square,, Geometry, Chirality

Abstract

This article proposes a first approach to the possibilities of adapting mathematical elements derived from chess to musical composition based on the analysis of the composition process of the work Chess Studies for String Quartet, composed in 2020 by the 1st author of this paper. The structure of its four movements arises from the superimposition of the geometry derived from a sequence of moves for the execution of Bishop and Knight checkmate on a magic square of the 8x8 board, a magic square of Al-Zarquali (11th century). The analysis delves into the evolution of the musical material used, showing the tendency to give rise to symmetries of pitches and temporal fragments between the different movements of the composition. These symmetries give rise to analogies with the concept of chirality, characteristic of the geometry of chess. Structures that show chirality appear in the work both in sound and temporal space.

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Author Biographies

Alberto Hortigüela, Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte / INET-md | Portugal

Alberto Hortigüela studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart with Marco Stroppa and Caspar Johannes Walter, obtaining the degrees of Künstlerische Ausbildung (KA) and Solistenklasse in Composition. His works have been commissioned and performed by orchestras and ensembles specialising in contemporary music. Recordings of his works exist on the NEOS and Odradek Records labels. He has taught Counterpoint and Analysis at the Conservatory of Castilla y León (COSCYL). He is interested in the possibilities of adapting chess to composition and is currently pursuing his doctoral thesis on this topic at the University of Aveiro, Portugal.

Sara Carvalho, Universidade de Aveiro, Departamento de Comunicação e Arte / INET-md | Portugal

Sara Carvalho is a composer and senior lecturer at Aveiro University, Portugal, currently directing the Doctoral Music Program. She is also a fellow researcher at INET-md. As a composer, her work explores gesture, musical narrative, audience-as-performer concepts, and composer-performer collaboration. With over 90 pieces for solo, ensemble, and orchestra, her music is internationally performed, commissioned, published, and available on CD. Carvalho actively participates in academic life, serving on international juries, organizing conferences, and contributing to panels. Her research is presented globally and published in journals and books, including with Ashgate/SEMPRE and Imperial College Press.

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