Cooper / Lansky: String Quartets

Shepherd String Quartet: Ronald Patterson, violin; Raphael Fliegel, violin; Wayne Crouse, viola; Shirley Trepel, cello; Pro Arte Quartet: Norman Paulu, violin; Martha Francis, violin; Richard Blum, viola; Parry Karp, celloPaul Cooper has submitted the following notes:“The Quartet No. 6 was completed in December of 1977. It consists of two movements and coda, each portion of which becomes shorter in duration. In its emotional intensity and its emphasis on the pitch C-sharp, the piece is a homage to Beethoven's Quartet, Op. 131.“The first movement opens with an imitation of wind chimes. Later, dense harmonic textures are contrasted with scurrying figures, both derived from the opening bell-like sounds.“The second movement is a whirl-wind of motion derived from two 3-note cells — one dark, the other bright. Unlike the rhapsodic first movement, this movement resembles a Classical rondo: A B A C A.“The coda — thirty-nine measures in length — calls for the players to hold and play their inst