Julien-François Zbinden

Quatuor No. 2, op. 108

The brevity of my Quatuor No. 1, op. 60 and the little piece Alligun were probably the incentive to undertake the composition of a more extensive string quartet at an advanced age. It seemed urgent to me to tackle this particularly demanding instrumentation once again. The 25-minute work consists of four clearly differentiated movements: The first - Lento-Allegro - begins with a slow, mysterious introduction, which is followed by a joyful rhythmic episode, while the second - Scherzando molto vivo - is pure bog-tide. The third movement, a very dramatic Adagio, ends in a gentle mood of inner reflection. The last movement - Allegrissimo - is a tribute to the art of counterpoint and demands virtuosity from the performers. The work was premiered on March 6, 2012 by the Quartet Sine Nomine - the dedicatees - at the Théâtre de l'Octogone in Pully near Lausanne, Switzerland. Julien-François Zbinden Lausanne, Switzerland August 2011