String Quartet No. 4 ...
This work, originally premiered in San Francisco in 1990 by
the Aurora String Quartet, was again performed by that group on
January 19, 1992. Chamber Music America had commissioned the piece
for the group and included it on the Chamber Music America Conference
concert. Wrote Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle,
"Lees was represented by his String Quartet #4 which
the Aurora String Quartet played suavely (the group gave the piece
its world premiere at Old First [Church] in 1990). In three movements,
Lees lays out his ideas melodically, developing them with welcome
clarity. In the first movement, sudden chromatic flurries serve
as identifiable punctuation points. The central movement, a winsome
pizzicato scherzo, is formally freer. Most compelling were the
slashing chordal strokes of the finale."
Later in the season the work was performed on April 10 by the
Portland String Quartet at Noyce Auditorium, Portland, Maine.
Mark Polshook, writing in the Portland Press Herald commented,
"After intermission the Portland String Quartet performed
Benjamin Lees' dark and brooding String Quartet #4. This
dissonant composition was reminiscent of Bartok's string quartets
without imitating them. In the program notes Lees wrote `there
is a feeling of continuity and flow that forces the listener to
concentrate on the evolution of the musical material.' This apt
description only begins to hint at the compelling nature of this
work. Lees' style of composition emphasizes the development of
his musical material in a singular fashion. The audience that
filled Noyce Auditorium gave the PSQ and Lees a rousing round
of applause upon the conclusion of his work."
PLEASE NOTE:
No reproductions of photos, articles, music or reviews are permitted without permission
of the Estate of Benjamin Lees.
No reproductions of photos, articles, music or reviews are permitted without permission
of the Estate of Benjamin Lees.