String Quartet No. 1
(2000) | 16 minutes
SCORING string quartet
Also: Nocturne for strings arranged from the second movement by the composer
PREMIERE 22 March 2002, at The Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA., by Ang Cheng, David Coucheron, violins; Teng Li, viola; and Angela Park, cello.
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Programme Note
My first quartet was the last work I composed in China before moving to the US to study at the Curtis Institute of Music. The work captures my state of mind of creating music as an 18-year-old – composing anything was exhilarating, and inspirations seemed to be coming from everywhere. I wanted to embed my love of music from the past and present – Bach, Ravel, Prokofiev, Chick Corea and more – into a fusion of my own taste. The piece begins with a bright and lively Allegro. A lyrical Nocturne follows, succeeded by a fast and rhythmic finale.
©Zhou Tian
Other Media
Works for string quartet
- String Quartet No. 1
- String Quartet No. 2
- Viaje (flute & string quartet)
- Flowing Sleeves (cello, piano & string quartet)
- Morning after the Deluge (violin, piano & string quartet)
- Morning after the Deluge (clarinet, piano & string quartet)
- Red Trees, Wrinkled Cliffs (guitar & string trio)
- Iris and Butterfly (small mixed chorus & string quartet)