String quartet

SKU: BO.B.3542

Composed by Domenec Gonzalez de la Rubia. Published by Editorial de Musica Boileau (BO.B.3542).

Staeliana was commissioned by the Fundacio Caixa de Catalunya in 2007 for the inauguration of an exposition of the work of Nicolas Staël at La Pedrera, Barcelona. In this work I wanted to compose homage to a painter who knew how to join together in his unique works both the traditions of the past along with the vanguard of his time. Beginning with figurative works which lead toward abstraction, his body of work can be defined as a contrast between these two concepts which, with extreme simplicity, define his entire artistic conception. Staeliana, an expressive chorale, at times both luminous and dramatic, dissolves into the most minimal expression. From the first joining together of the voices it concludes with utter simplicity of expression. The suicide of the artist in 1955 is representative of the dissolution of his existence as well as of his artistic works. This contrast between figurative and abstraction is reflected in the music by the contrast between stability and tension. I believe that this duality may be found both in his work and in his life, always oscillating between living a creative life or opting for death, which may be seen as a fusion in nothingness with the plenitude of purest simplicity.

String Quartet

SKU: SU.29120020

For String Quartet. Composed by Todd Mason. Score & Parts. Subito Music Corporation #29120020. Published by Subito Music Corporation (SU.29120020).

String Quartet No. 1 is a powerful and harmonically dynamic string quartet in four movements. It mixes both tonal and dissonant musical landscapes in an elegant way. The quartet may also be experienced as a kind of coming-of-age story. After the calm first movement’s confident simplicity of youth, the second movement reflects the increasing complications and conflicts of young adulthood, with fraught exploration, the discovery of possible romance, and new tensions now replacing the youthful calm. The third movement reflects on maturity and the experiences of love and loss, before the finale—a set of complex chromatic fugues—evokes the fight against fate and time to achieve one’s goals in life. The movement’s end briefly recapitulates the first movement, suggesting that ultimately life comes full circle as we see the totality of our experience. As LA Opus music critic, John Stodder, said about this work, The protagonist discovers the presence of life's purpose. String Quartet Duration: 19' Composed: 2019 Published by: Todd Mason.