Prelude (Mayuzumi)

This single-movement work has a total duration of around 12 minutes and is scored for a typical string quartet, consisting of two violins, viola, and cello. The work features many advanced techniques for strings, such as scordatura or Bartók pizzicato.^[5] The general harmonic setting of the piece is meant to resemble that of traditional Japanese music, such as gagaku, with the pizzicato evoking the music of the koto.^[3]

Mayuzumi specified that he wanted the performers to be placed as far away from one another as possible on the stage, so every sound could be heard separately by the listener.^[5] Since there is no bar separation and no time signature, the extensive use of fermatas is intentionally laid out so that the performers have to choose how long and in which order they should sound for, depending on the order presented in the score and the sounds produced by the other performers.^[5] The eerie atmosphere of the piece is attained by using no vibrato and playing sul ponticello.^[6][5]