String Quartet No. 1 (2020)

8mins vln, vln, vla, vc
This First String Quartet is, for me, a more intimate extension of concepts explored in my oboe concerto, Expressions on Solitude. My extrovert and introvert are in constant competition. Secretly, I think introvert wins out - but there's a sort of hollow quality to this quartet, so maybe it's a pyrrhic victory. Otherwise, I have recently found much enjoyment in writing music without any distinct narrative structure, instead concentrating on form and proportion. This is not to say my work is now suddenly uninspired; indeed, it remains deeply personal. But through exploring processes that are without concrete – or at least authorial – meaning, thus rendering those processes entirely interpretive, one creates a powerful experience for individuals, not just audiences.
While the traditional string quartet is a work of multiple movements, I am content with the First’s length. This is a prologue.
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