Mason: String Quartet No. 2
Expected to ship in about a week.
- Composer: Quinn Mason (1996-)
- Format: Score & Set of Parts
- Instrumentation: String Quartet (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello)
- Work: String Quartet No. 2
Description
Music journalists love to "discover" the next great composer, a tradition extending back to the origins of modern classical criticism. The composer Robert Schumann edited a periodical in which he hailed contemporaries as geniuses or critiqued their work as misguided, and among his more memorable articles was a notice that Johannes Brahms – twenty years old at the time – would be the Messiah of composition. (Brahms would take decades to write a symphony, having internalized this sort of advance praise as a burden.) Quinn Mason (b. 1996) knows all about this early-career buzz, which has surrounded him for years. in 2020, Texas Monthly speculated that he could be "classical music's next superstar," and Mason has so far given the world little reason to doubt it. The Dallas native reveals three key things about himself in the interview in question: first, he holds Igor Stravinsky's ballet score The Rite of Spring in especially high regard; second, he has written reams of music with no particular plan for performance, and many pieces still await their debuts; and third, he loves working with dancers. These things all factor into his String Quartet No. 2 , on offer tonight.
Mason wrote this Quartet in 2013, a century after the first performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. While Mason's work lacks the confrontational attitude of the Rite, it clearly springs from a shared enchantment with the power of rhythm and repetition to lure listeners into states of expectation – the better to surprise them. Stravinsky, depicting routine violence in a pre-modern village, needed great flinty walls of orchestral sound; Mason, writing for no outlet in particular, allows his four string players to float. The American composer Aaron Copland, to whom journalists often compare Mason, wrote ballet music with a similar combination of wide-eyed enthusiasm and inobtrusive complexity. Enter Katie Cooper, the choreographer behind the Dallas-Fort Worth area's Avant Chamber Ballet, who approached Mason for a dance score only to learn that he had suitable material tucked away already. The result of their conversations: the 2019 version of this Quartet, which marries the abstraction of chamber music with danceability, even in the slow third movement. You may want to get up and groove to a string quartet for the first time; Mason, who also produces electronic dance beats, would surely smile to see it.
Publishers use a lot of words to describe what they sell, and we know it can be confusing. We've tried to be as clear as possible to make sure you get exactly what you are looking for. Below are descriptions of the terms that we use to describe the various formats that music often comes in.
Choral Score
A score for vocalists that only contains the vocal lines. The instrumental parts are not there for reference. Generally, cheaper than a vocal score and requires multiple copies for purchase.
Facsimile
Reproductions of the original hand-written scores from the composer.
Full Score
For ensemble music, this indicates that the edition contains all parts on a single system (there are not separate parts for each player). In larger ensembles, this is for the conductor.
Hardcover
Hardbound. Generally either linen-covered or half-leather.
Orchestral Parts
Similar to a wind set, this is a collection of parts. In the case of strings, the numbers listed are the number of copies included, though generally these are available individually (often with minimum quantities required).
Paperback
When publishers offer multiple bindings (e.g. hardcover) or study scores, this is the "standard" version. If you're planning to play the music, this is probably what you want.
Performance / Playing Score
A score of the music containing all parts on one system, intended for players to share. There are not separate parts for each player.
Set of Parts
For ensemble music, this indicates that there are separate individual parts for each player.
Solo Part with Piano Reduction
For solo pieces with orchestra, this is a version that contains a piano reduction of the orchestra parts. For piano pieces, two copies are typically needed for performance.
Study Score
A small (think choral size) copy of the complete score meant for studying, and not playing. They make great add-ons when learning concertos and small chamber works.
Vocal Score
A score prepared for vocalists that includes the piano/organ part or a reduction of the instrumental parts.
Wind Set
For orchestral music, this is a collection of wind and percussion parts. The specific quantities of each instrument are notated.
With Audio
In addition to the printed music, the edition contains recordings of the pieces. This may be an included CD, or access to files on the internet.
With / Without Fingering (Markings)
Some publishers prepare two copies - a pure Urtext edition that includes no fingering (or bowing) suggestions and a lightly edited version that includes a minimal number of editorial markings.
Mason: String Quartet No. 2
