The program began with the world premiere of Martin Rokeach's "Quartet for Piano and Strings."  The composer had only delivered the central movement on the Thursday before the performance. The successful performance of this original work was a tribute to both performers and composer. The first movement, "Haunted," took an intervallic motive through different colorful transformations. . . . The striking usage of harmonics, coupled with tone clusters in the piano and the obsessive character of the motive itself lent to the "haunted" quality. The second movement, "Island of Calm," again utilized harmonics, plus light airy fragments of the original motive passing from one instrument to another, to create a musical fabric that simulated woven water. The quartet ending, with an energetic "Facing the Storm (fugue)," ran in jumps and starts from one instrument to another, the subject of the fugue creating distinct new fugal subjects from the original statement. This brilliant use of the fugue form created music continually engaging and exciting. Rokeach has a rare talent for knowing exactly how long his music should be -- each of the three movements lasted not one second longer , nor shorter, than necessary. The use of similar thematic material in three texturally contrasting movements create a cohesive work that should become part of the standard piano quartet literature.

20th Century Music