String Quartet No. 1

Winner of The 2019-2020 Tribeca National Young Composer Competition, String Quartet no.1 introduces the idea of combining contemporary and traditional musical palette.

The main theme in Movement 1 develops through counterpoint and various textures which echoes the motives. The theme shifts between many different colors, incorporating many techniques of the instruments.

Movement 2 focuses on a nine-note scale that is utilized through melodic contour and rhythmic ideas. The resulting themes are rhythmically displaced many times. The overall groove of the movement is driven by the rhythmic momentum seen across the four parts, interdependently.

The final movement starts with a melodic fugue that develops vertically and horizontally. The harmonies which result in the layered themes truly encompass contemporary harmonies and traditional harmonic cadences. There is a sense of slow-motion and fast-motion simultaneously as the theme is echoed at different speeds using rhythms like quintuplets and sextuplets.

The overall shape of this piece is reflected by the contrasting styles and the combination of “old” and “new” musical elements.