Contemporary adaptations of familiar American songs about travel the gold rush Underground Railroad and baseball serve as springboards for musical explorations--delighting in the sonorities the colors and the humor latent in the tunes. The movement

Par DUTILLEUX HENRI. Composed between 1973 and 1976, Ainsi La Nuit for String Quartet is one of the most important works of its genre, by Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013), a French composer following the paths of Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy. Commissioned by the Koussevitzky Foundation for the Juilliard Quartet, Ainsi La Nuit is based on a series of studies, lasting 18 minutes and divided into 7 sections: 1. Nocturne 2. Miroir d'espace 3. Litanies 4. Litanies II 5. Constellations 6. Nocturne II 7. Temps suspendu Built on single hexachords, it also uses theoctatonic mode and focuses on harmonies, contrasts and oppositions of register. Henri Dutilleux was internationally acclaimed for his work, winning prizes such as the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society and the UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers, among many others. His work also includes a Piano sonata, two symphonies, the Violin concerto 'L'arbre des songes' (The tree of dreams) and the Cello concerto 'Tout un monde lointain' (A whole distant world)./ Répertoire / 2 Violons, Alto et Violoncelle

La Oracion Del Torero (The Bullfighter’s Prayer Op. 34) is a brief tone poem written in 1925. Originally scored for Lute Quartet it was quickly arranged for String Quartet by the composer as presented here. It was later transcribed for String Orchestra and has since become one of the composer’s most popular works. Joaquin Turina (1882-1949) was a Spanish classical composer. Unlike his contemporaries such as Granados and Falla he wrote several chamber pieces many of which are still performed today. He studied in Paris with Ravel and Debussy whose influences can be heard throughout his works as well as influences from traditional Andalusianmusic.

Claude Debussy's 'Quartet in G Minor Op 10' and Maurice Ravel's 'Quartet in F Major'. Authoritative editions.

Angels for String Quartet by Joan Tower was composed in 2008 and premiered on August 31 2008 in Angel Fire NM performed by the Miami String Quartet. Angels is my fourth quartet — a mediumI really love. In fact when Ida Kavafian asked me what I wanted to write for the Festival I immediately said string quartet. Having written three prior quartets and gotten to travel extensively around the world of quartets Ihave come to love the way string quartets are so deeply creative and passionate about the music they play. They are really like four 'composers' at work. Angels is about 18 minutes long in one movement and isdedicated to the people who helped my younger brother George survive a major stroke this year. They include my sister Ellen a former student of mine (Erin) a doctor (Dr. Stenehjem) a nurse (Courtney) and two real estate agents(Ann and Dale). These are caring people whose generosity of spirit and love of humanity make them very special 'angels.' I am thrilled that the Miami Quartet is giving the premiere of Angels. - Joan Tower