This performance is in partnership with Door County Reads. You can read more about their organization by visiting their website at http://doorcountyreads.org/

Program

--Four Encores for Stan - John Harbison

--Tesserae:Tessellis - Dave Utzinger

-Intermission-

--String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 "American" - Dvorak

I. Allegro ma non troppo

II. Lento

III. Molto vivace

IV. Finale. Vivace ma non troppo

Program notes

Tesserae : Tessellis is a single-movement string quartet. It was written in 2004 for the Esterhazy String Quartet and revised in 2007 to its current form. Tesserae are the small, four-sided tiles that are used to make a mosaic (in Latin, a tessellis). Like a group of small tiles that work together to make a mosaic, this string quartet is comprised of a series of small sections that work together to create a whole. On the large scale, the quartet can be divided into four larger sections—each section exploring a different modal color and compositional technique. Section A explores the octatonic mode and contrapuntal techniques (fugues, strettos, etc.). Section B is a bi-tonal waltz (C Major vs. F# Major). Section C explores the pentatonic mode and "gamelan textures," and Section D combines elements of the preceding sections. Together, the four large-scale sections and smaller subsections—each defined by unique modal qualities, textures, and compositional techniques—function like individual tesserae in the creation of a tessellis.