String Quartet No. 2

Description

Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello — Mennin's String Quartet No.2 was composed in 1951 after a commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation. It was premiered in February 1952 by the Juilliard String Quartet and later won the Columbia Records Chamber Music Award. It is divided in four movements and characterized by the composer's abundant and resourceful counterpoint. The first presents two motives and develops in a fugal manner, while the second and third movement are written in ternary form. The fourth movement uses a series of fast motives that are restated throughout, before a theme from the first movement is recapitulated and combined with later elements.xa0