Karol Beffa

Mosaïque

This string quartet is in five movements, of which the second and fifth are by far the most elaborate. The remaining three movements are rather short, like brief vignettes.
The second movement draws its inspiration from Schubert, albeit indirectly; the middle instruments in the quartet (violin 2, viola) play an accompaniment with a motif of two slurred notes, almost always in sixths.
In spirit and style, the fifth movement is akin to Masques for violin and cello: a rather introspective piece, a simple compositional approach using few notes, obsessively repeated melodies, the absence of tonality, no modulation in the proper sense of the word, repetitive structures and hypnotic sequences.
The movements may be played individually.

Commissioned by the Spanish Center for the dissemination of Contemporary Music, 2009.
Premiered on April, 27. 2009, at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (Spain), by the Capuçon Quartet.