I could have sworn I posted on a Kagel Thread recently, but it's not one of these two,...huh,...oh, well.
I got this recording of Kagel's SQ No.4, and,... YES!!,.. it is quite something special, I think. It's on a new cd, with, of all things, Keuris' No.1.
It's in two mvmts., about 12mins a piece. There is an anonymously folkic quality to this music that does not eschew modern techniques. The second mvmt. begins with the most charming minor key figure, which is then answered in totally avant parodistic fashion. I think I even wanted to negatively prejudge this Sq, but it totally won me over. I was reminded of Kagel's generation of composers, who began to write very profoundly moving music in the last years of their lives (Boucourechliev's SQ No.3, Berio's Notturno). Don't be fooled by my language. I think you will really love this piece. It reminds me a little of Janacek's, or Malipiero's way (especially Janacek, though), of just following one thing with another without any real transition, bap, bap, bap. It's da shizzle!