Bartok String Quartet No. 2 Op. 17

Shortly after arriving at the West Point Band in 2002, I began arranging Béla Bartók’s Quartet No. 2 for four clarinets. I have always loved this piece, and arranging it was a labor of love. It enabled me to obtain a much deeper understanding of the piece than I ever would have by studying it alone. I scored it for two Bb clarinets, one A clarinet and bass clarinet. I chose to leave the notes as-written, meaning the clarinet quartet sounds a whole-step lower than Bartók intended.