String Quartet No. 2 - Score and Parts

The New York première of my String Quartet No. 2 in September of 1968 received a glowing review in The New York Times after a performance in Town Hall by the New England Festival String Quartet. A revised version was performed several times by the Son Sonora String Quartet in various cities before this recording was made. In the first movement, after a brief introduction, an intense, soloistic quality characterizes the instrumental entrances that taper off in unusual cadences. The second movement has scherzo-like material riveted with syncopations. A middle section provides contrast before the return of the initial motive.The third movement contains an abundance of pizzicati, punctuating sustained melodic fragments. The dramatic opening of the fourth movement is followed by a four voice, highly chromatic fugue. A cantabile section recurs before the final fugal entrances lead to the conclusion of the string quartet. -George Walker