Quartet núm. 6

In the three movements of which the quartet consists, whose total duration is about seventeen minutes, I tried to combine musical unity with variety, without basing neither on formative thematic figures nor on any textual repetition.
The first movement (Allegro moderato) starts with a brief introduction of nine bars, in which the eight initial notes of the series of twelve tones on which the composition is based burst, followed by an imitation in pianissimo on four of them, which is finally completed by the second section of six notes of the series. This structural binary asymmetric layout, whose first part is briefer and fuller of sounds tan the second one, constitutes a fundamental constructive mould, which does not only frequently appear throughout the movement in many different layouts, but also informs its general path and even the one of the whole work.
Contrasting with the dominant agitation of the first movement, the following Adagio/Andante shows a predominance of sustained and tense notes, especially during its initial and final sections, and, although the movement was conceived as a whole, we can distinguish its following parts: the first part, with three initial expositional phrases (bar 1 to 27); the second, in which central development sections follow one another linked to one another by short transitions; and finally, the third part, starting in bar 85, in which the expressive climate of this movement is reached and which persists until its end.
The final Allegro vivace starts with a phrase of nine bars, followed by some “scherzando” episodes, derived from this same phrase, which spread out until bar 30. From bar 3 onwards a development period starts, which is formed by three sections (bar 31-42, 43-65 and 66-78). Immediately afterwards, the initial abbreviated structures of the second movement reappear –in different layouts– and close the movement with materials derived from the first movement.

The Autor