A quodlibet is a genre of music made up of quotations from other pieces. The quotations in this quodlibet come from Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Berlioz, among many others.

This piece can be performed by any four instruments, although it would be easier if those instruments are portable and can be played while standing. Instruments of different ranges and timbres make it more interesting.

The parts are notated without clef and there is no need to consider transposition of the pitches; they may be played in any octave. Accidentals in parentheses are optional. The printed music remains stationary on stands in four positons during the performance, six to ten feet apart.

Each part contains instructions for the performers to move from one placement to another during the performance. Moving time should be done quickly (but carefully) within 5 seconds, and in the end, each performer will play all four parts. This piece is as much about the visual as it is the aural.

The parts have tempo indications, and while practicing, these speeds should be strictly followed. In performance, however, tempi should be slightly varied, so the music will sound non-synchonized.

The four players should not make any attempt to begin or end together, but all players must hold the trill at the beginning of the second movement and move on to the second measure together.

The indeterminacy of Quid pro quodlibet is manifested three ways:

1. The instruments (ranges and timbres are a result of choice or availability)
2. The tempi (a result of performers' choices)
3. The dynamics (a result of instrumentation, textures, and sensitivity to others in the ensemble)

In spite of this, this piece is highly structured, much on the order of a elaborate canon. All musical lines are to be performed expressively, and there should be a sense of drama and humor.

Quid pro quodlibet is published by Esoteric Music Press, Cincinnati OH, 2005.