"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" by Philip Glass. Modest rise and fall. balanced composition. Mood: contemplative, melancholy, serene. Visual style: 1980s editorial aesthetic, neon accents against moody ground. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
String Quartet No. 2 'Company'
Philip Glass
Complete String Quartets (1983)
AI-analyzed — check another song
Deep calm, gentler than 92% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
60
BPM
String Quartet No. 2 'Company' by Philip Glass is 60 BPM — Adagio (slow).
Half-time 30 BPM · Double-time 120 BPM · released 1983
Fan image for "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"
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Song DNA
Notes: Minimalist string quartet with hypnotic repetition and subtle layering of strings, creating a gentle pulsing rhythm without harsh attacks. Smooth glissandi and gradual rises evoke a serene, timeless flow ideal for sensitive listeners.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: anxiety relief deep listening focus meditation
Philip Glass's String Quartet No. 2 'Company' consists of four short vignette movements derived from incidental music for Samuel Beckett's novella, featuring repetitive minimalist patterns with subtle tensions from clashing rhythms.
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Moods: contemplative, melancholy, serene
Traditions: contemporary classical, minimalism
Quiet Track
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" sits at 60 BPM. Built for stillness.
This is well below typical speech rhythm. The body reads slow tempo as permission to rest. Smooth texture and instrumental keep the foreground spare. Good candidates for use: falling asleep, processing a hard day, slow mornings, study sessions where the music must not pull at you. Avoid for any task that needs alertness — the piece works against it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 4/10 is within the normal pop-mix band. There is variation between verse and chorus, but it's the kind of variation most listeners encounter routinely.
Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
Texture: smooth.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: instrumental.
Where this sits in Philip Glass's catalog
We have 18 songs from Philip Glass in the library. Of those, 13 are rated Safe, 3 Moderate, and 2 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 4/10 sits below the artist average of 4.8, making it the #10 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
1983 context
Released in 1983. We have 242 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.5/10. This track is quieter / less dynamic than the year average. Explore more from the 1980s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
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Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive li…
How fast is "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"?
60 BPM — Very slow (ballad / ambient)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Warm-up, cool-down, yoga, stretching.
For daily life
Sleep, meditation, reading, focus work.
Browse more songs at 60 BPM.
When "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
~
Focus / studying
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
✗
Running / workout
No — 60 BPM is too slow for sustained cardio.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
✓
Emotional release / catharsis
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Music that repeats until it changes you — a love letter to minimalism
Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Julia Wolfe. Minimalism sounds like nothing is happening until you realize everything is. A passiona…
Classical Music for Sensory Sensitivity: What's Safe, What's Intense, and Why
Classical Music for Sensory Sensitivity: What's Safe, What's Intense, and Why — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
This song in the Music Studio
18/100 intensity
See how “String Quartet No. 2 'Company'” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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For focused listening
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-15. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 92% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 18/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, mild shifts, and instrumental. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is a slow, unhurried pace: more extreme on that axis than 100% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
3 Intermezzi, Op. 117 — Johannes Brahms · 99%Boadicea — Enya · 99%Mercy — Max Richter · 95%Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 — Chopin · 95%
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Sleep8/10
Focus9/10
Workout1/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype1/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1983 in context
The 242 songs we’ve measured from 1983 average a dynamic range of 6.5/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity18
Dynamics33
Tempo11
Surprise25
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force0
Trigger load13
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" by Philip Glass?
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" by Philip Glass has a tempo of 60 BPM (Adagio (slow)). At half-time that is 30 BPM, and at double-time 120 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" by Philip Glass?
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" by Philip Glass rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 4/10, mild sudden changes, smooth texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" — what is its dynamic range?
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" has a dynamic range of 4/10. Within normal pop-mix variation. Movement between verse and chorus but nothing dramatic.
Does "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" have sudden or surprising changes?
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" best for?
In our library "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" is recommended for: anxiety relief, deep listening, focus, meditation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" released?
"String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" is from 1983, on the album "Complete String Quartets". It appears in our 1980s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"?
We tag "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" as contemplative, melancholy, serene. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"?
The vocal style is instrumental.
Is "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" good for running?
Not really — at 60 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (4/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "String Quartet No. 2 'Company'" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
smooth texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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