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Quartet in G minor for 2 Violas and 2 Violoncelli Movements: 1. Allegro energico (Sonata form) 2. Andante un poco adagio (Sonata form) 3. Menuetto: Allegro 4. Presto (Rondo form – ABACABA with Coda) Style: Late Classical, ca. 1790-1800 Composed: 3 August – 6 December, 2018 at Austin Here they are then,…dearest Friend, these six children of mine. They are, it is true, the fruit of a long and laborious endeavour, yet the hope inspired in me by several Friends that it may be at least partly compensated encourages me, and I flatter myself that this offspring will serve to afford me solace one day. –W.A. Mozart, Published Letter of Dedication, Six String Quartets to Haydn, 1 September, 1785 I quote Mozart here because his sentiments are very much my own regarding the Six Quartets I composed last year for 2 Violas and 2 Violoncelli, of which the present posting is but one example; though it is one of the best, choosing it to post from among the others in the set was like choosing a favourite of my children. Though Mozart expresses himself with a humility uncommon for him, he clearly was proud of his work, as I am of mine. Indeed, I consider my Quartets to be my magnum opus to date – the most important and highest quality work I have ever produced, and the crowning achievement of decades as a composer. Having researched the matter to some degree, to my knowledge no other composer has attempted a work for this combination of instruments, hence mine are likely unique in the chamber music repertoire. Despite being unusual, I have found the combination of pairs of violas and ‘cellos, though not without its challenges and limitations, to be very successful and pleasing, and I hope you will agree. The 1st Viola and 1st ‘Cello take the lead a fair amount of the time, and the instruments also operate in pairs as one might expect, but much of the time the ensemble is a cohesive whole, with all the instruments more or less equal. The character of this work is fraught with frenetic energy and angst, particularly in the fast and furious outer movements – even in moments of relative calm, the forward motion is relentless. The easygoing second movement is a comparative walk in the park, moving leisurely along. The third movement is a nervous, jumpy minuet, punctuated by forte diminished chords; the Trio alla ghironda (in the style of a hurdy gurdy) is characterized by a harmonized melody in G-Lydian mode in the violas, accompanied by a drone in the ‘cellos for a rustic sound. Fun fact about this piece: I conceived the final Rondo during a Nine Inch Nails set at a rock festival in San Antonio! And another: I composed the first half of the opening movement entirely in my head before I began writing it down. I’ll be very interested to know what people think of this piece and the combination of these instruments, and I hope listening to it will be a pleasant adventure into a different sound-world.

@Theodore Servin Thanks so much! Yes, that opening movement is very vigourous - the last movement too, actually, though maybe a little lighter touch. I'm honoured that you compare me to Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven in any sense, so thanks again, and I'm really glad you thought the ensemble worked well. I may indeed post some of the others in the set.

It seems you misunderstood me. Never talked about progress for progress sake, but progress for art's sake ( meaning art as description of beauty, if you want ). I would never treat my audience as idiots. But if I compose something, better keep in mind the way people today " receive" music...2/3 minutes tracks, lyrics and singing, very high volume. If I want to be sincerely appreciated I must keep in mind this thing are lowering the "listener's quality...so I have to deal with them. I agree with yoy about the desperate ways to create originality and new standards, and I also agree with the uphold prior standards solution...but this is a theoretical idea...now we have to find the correct way to applicate it. Alma Deutscher fills the concert halls because she is a child prodigy...not because her style. There are tons of composers that use her language but no one has the enormous success she has...the difference obviously is in the age of composers. If maybe we would come back to those times were new music was composed with the aim of being played, we could have better times. Think about it...before romanticism music was composed because people needed something to play. Maybe playing ( mainly )dead people is what keeps us back. Just throwing there some ideas for the sake of discussion...no thesis here.

This is really good! I love the power and the vigor in the 1st movement! It kind of reminds me of the string quartets of early Beethoven or Haydn or Late Mozart, in terms of emotions and style. Also, you made excellent use of the unusual arrangement! I would love to hear your other quartets. Best, Theo