String Quartet No. 1

String Quartet No. 1 is a serial work, like most of the composer’s compositions from this period. A figure of six notes pervades the first and third movements of the piece. The first movement is constructed in an imitative manner, ending on a rousing crescendo with superimposed ostinato patterns. The second movement is based on a four-note figure that outlines the interval of a major seventh and interweaves with the six-note figure of the first movement. The last movement is vivid and rhythmic, giving the motives of the first two movements a more energetic interpretation. The piece comes to a rousing close similar to that of the first movement.