STRING QUARTET NO. 1

Composer's Note:

String Quartet No. 1 is cast as a single uninterrupted form in five contrasted but internally related sections: the first, rhythmically propulsive; the second, slower and more lyrical; the third, offering cadenza-like solos; the fourth, a non-melodic but sonorous projection, with the paradoxical effect of being at once animated and seeming to suspend the flow of time. The fifth and final section is a highly varied recall of the first followed by a summary ending of the entire quartet.

A "student work," first conceived in 1957, it was revised and extended in 2008. It was premiered at Harvard University, on January 14, 2011.