Hello. I was wondering if anyone could recommend any film scores in which their largest part is composed only for a string quartet. Mansell's The Fountain contains some parts (although not much of strictly a string quartet only but in combination with other instruments).
Well Glass made a new score for 1931's Dracula film also performed by Kronos Quartet.
If I broaden up your question and include scores which have parts for a string quartet, the music of Bear McCreary comes to mind first. He has used string quartets in many of his scores; both solo quartet pieces and as a part of the overall instrumentation. This can be heard for instance in The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica and Da Vinci's Demons.
Joe Hisaishi directed and scored a film called Quartet.
One of the pieces from the score is a very classical sounding Mozartish string quartet; it's called Student Quartet. Yes, I know there are five musicians in this first video^
Here's the score:
He also wrote for that film a medley for string quartet of three of his themes for other films (Totoro, Brother, and Kids Return):
There's an achingly beautiful string quarter arrangement of the main theme from THE ORPHANAGE on the that score's album. Just lovely, lovely, lovely...
Both Goldsmith's The artist who did not want to paint and Goldenthal's Heat had string quartets singled out with in the orchestra. Stunningly effective.
