Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Brian Elias
String Quartet (2012)
- Chester Music Ltd (World)
This quartet was commissioned by the Jerusalem String Quartet with funds made available by Louise Kaye in memory of her father Harold Yauner (1922-2012), a man who loved music, and by the Secrest Series at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, where the first performance took place on 8th October 2013.
Programme Note
Although this quartet is laid out in a fairly conventional four-movement plan (Allegro, Adagio, Presto, Adagio-Allegro-Adagio), it is, in effect, a work in one movement, and is performed without any breaks. A set of double variations generates the thematic and harmonic material for the entire piece in its first few bars; an Adagio that contains a substantial solo for viola follows. The Scherzo, during which the strings are muted, is rapid and pianissimo throughout. In the final section, the opening of the Adagio is stated again and then evolves through several changes of tempo, recalling briefly the initial Allegro before ending the work with a return to the slow music.
Brian Elias (March 2013)
Brian Elias (March 2013)
Scores
Score sample