About This Piece:
In composing my first string quartet, I found inspiration in the shocking events of 2020, a year during which it felt as though the world was burning. I began writing this piece at home during the beginning of quarantine, a time of extreme uncertainty and tension for many people. Inevitably and on every scale, we face moments where we feel completely smothered by difficulty and chaos. It may feel as if the world is on fire in these times, and even if we are not directly caught in the flames, the smoke may suffocate us. However, perhaps the silver lining to such grief is that it often breeds progress, as we are forced to reckon with the past in order to avoid similar future circumstances. Through this piece, I intend to depict the tragedy of our current times whilst conveying a measured optimism for the emergence of a better world.