Tania Leรณn
Cuarteto No. 2 for String Quartet
Commissioned by the ASCAP Foundation and The Sphinx Organization for the Harlem Quartet World Premiere May 14, 2011, Symphony Space, NYC
Cuarteto No. 2 I. II. III.
Soy! (I am) De vez en cuando (Once in a while) Son retazos (They are fragments)
Program Notes Cuarteto No. 2 is comprised of three movements of modified traditional forms. A free form string quartet in three movements, it is marked by interactive solos with a ghostly sense of tonality. It features impressions of gestured improvisations, fragments of static episodes, simple and complex dialogues of polyphonic motives, and is sustained at times by an energetic rhythmic drive. Musical ideas are presented in a seemingly broken process, like fragments within the framework of structural principles. Stylistic devices include glissandos, forward motion, and a rustic mosaic of musical expressions derived of Cuban musical traditions such as montuno dance-like elements: son, guajira and trova. Cuarteto No. 2 received its world premiere on May 14, 2011 by the Harlem Quartet at New York City’s Symphony Space. The work was commissioned by The ASCAP Foundation and The Sphinx Organization for the Harlem Quartet.