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Program:

• Haydn - Quartet in d minor, 76:2
• Rebecca Clarke - Two Movements for String Quartet
• Dan Roman - Sonora Complexidad
• Astor Piazzolla - Introduccion y Muerte del Angel
• Four, for Tango

This concert features several local composers and performers. WESQ will perform two pieces: A Muse by David Macbridge and selected movements of String Quartet #1 by Arthur Hernandez.

Works to be performed:

String Quartet #2

James T. Lindsay

James Lindsay's Second String Quartet was composed in 2002 through 2003, with revisions being made in 2008. This afternoon's concert is the world premiere. While not minimalist in its entirety, the piece incorporates the minimalist qualities of pulsation and use of ostinato. The work is in three movements. The first movement, an allegro, is primarily in 4/4. It's main theme of a minor ninth followed by a minor second is developed and explored throughout. The second movement, a moderato, is characterized by expanding harmonies beginning with a major second and ending in an octave. The third movement, a vivace, contains a constant eighth note pulse with alternating duple and triple meters. The main theme, appearing in the tenth measure, began as a dodecaphonic composition but is broken down into smaller pieces appearing throughout the movement.

String Quartet in A major, Op. 41 No. 3

Robert Schumann

Schumann composed only three string quartets, all in the summer of 1842, in the midst of his “chamber year.” Influenced by Beethoven, Schumann wanted to create an over-arching sense of unity in his large-scale works (though the fanciful nature of his better-known piano miniatures still shines through). In all of the movements of this quartet, a sense of conflict is created through contrast between rhythmic stability and instability. The third movement is in a form borrowed from vocal music, where the verses of the melody are repeated with varied accompaniment.