C50AC5F1-C4BA-4434-B9C2-C765074B7721

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IDC50AC5F1-C4BA-4434-B9C2-C765074B7721
TitlecodeX504007
Title NameShort Set for String Quartet
Marketing CopyThese six melodic, jazz-oriented short pieces are written in the American vernacular musical language. The intent is to provide music that I fun to play and to hear. Movements: I. A Splash of Cold Water, II. River Song, III. Scarcely a Scherzo, IV. Rhythm and Blues, V. Shadow of Evening, VI. Don't Step on My Toes!"
InstrumentationString Quartet
CommissionCommissioned by the Yellow Barn Music Festival
Dedication(not set)
Program NotesShort Set for String Quartet was commissioned by the Yellow Barn Music Festival (Putney, Vermont) as part of Gwyneth Walker+s 1993 composer Residency. The work was premiered by the Rittenhouse String Quartet in the Yellow Barn on July 13, 1993.

These are short pieces written in the American vernacular musical language. The intent was to provide music that is enjoyable to play and hear. -Gwyneth Walker
Title Brand2
Year Composed1993
Copyright Number(not set)
Copyright Year(not set)
Duration18
Ensemble Size4
Date Created2008-10-31 20:32:09.000000
Date Updated2025-09-30 20:32:09
Inhouse Note(not set)
Bsc Code(not set)
Text Author(not set)
Premier Performance Memo(not set)
Recording Credits(not set)
Review"Vermont composer Gwyneth Walker provided the concertÕs other substantial score, Short Set for String Quartet, performed by violinists Lani Bortfeld and Pamela Bartlett, violist Richard Loomis and cellist Nancy Rich. The piece carried the earmarks of Walker's best work: honesty, wit and unpredictability. Much of the piece fell into lithe swing and quartal, bebop-tinged harmonies."--Clifton J. Noble Jr., Union-News<BR><BR>


"Walker, a Vermont-based composer who is pleased to write music that accommodates a wide range of sophistication from both performers and listeners, was on hand to introduce her quartet. She spoke of her background in American music(s): folk, rock, jazz and classical.
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Though she is self-deprecating about her classical training, the truth is out. Short Set for String Quartet, is a survey in six well-crafted vignettes of a variety of different American music styles. One hears the open fifths of Copland, the arching, large-interval lyrical lines of Barber, as well as a soft-shoe number and a rhythm-and-blues pastiche.
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The work presented rhythmic and stylistic challenges to the young players. The fourth movement, marked 'Rhythm and Blues,' needed more freedom and a willingness to play dirty. Otherwise, the quartet assimilated Walker's music as thoroughly as Walker has assimilated her stylistic antecedents."<BR>
--Philip Kennicott, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Awards(not set)
Title Category10
Title MovementsI. A Splash of Cold Water
II. River Song
III. Scarcely a Scherzo
IV. Rhythm and Blues
V. Shadow of Evening
VI. Don't Step on My Toes!"
Title Grade(not set)
Set Series ID(not set)
Title Instrument Category TextString Duo & Ensemble
Title Sub Category Text(not set)
Title Sub Category76
Title Instrument Header63
Title Grade Text(not set)
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