Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed here by the Jade String Quartet, Sebastián Rodríguez Bonil’s String Quartet No. 1 Op. 11 explores new approaches to the traditional string quartet in both form and the way in which the four voices interact with each other. It explores different atmospheres through the use of different combinations of both tonal and modal scales.
The first movement is upbeat and extroverted, with underlying tensions explored through quick changes between 4/4 and 8/8 feels in different parts of the ensemble. The eerie second movement features subtle textural and pitch changes with harmonics and sul tasto (bowing over the fingerboard) creating hollow sounds. A scherzo-style third movement follows, with a number of ‘hiccups’ to the driving 3/4 time signature through missing or extra beats, just as the audience gets comfortable. After several ‘false starts’, the work’s final movement is a driving, mixed metre dash to the dramatic conclusion. It takes the form of a four-part fugue and extends this beyond its traditional form through the use of complex melodic devices and octatonic scales.
00:00 I.
02:57 II.
07:05 III.
10:06 IV.
Performed by the Jade String Quartet: Miranda Adams (violin), James Jin (guest violin), Robert Ashworth (viola) and James Yoo (cello) at the Music Theatre, University of Auckland, 12 April 2025.
Filmed and edited by Chris Watson for SOUNZ. Audio recorded by John Kim. Film funded by NZ On Air.
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Learn more about the composers and performers of music from Aotearoa New Zealand on our website (sounz.org.nz), or by following us on Facebook (@SOUNZnz), Instagram (@sounz_nz), or TikTok (@sounz_nz).
#nzmusic
Performed here by the Jade String Quartet, Sebastián Rodríguez Bonil’s String Quartet No. 1 Op. 11 explores new approaches to the traditional string quartet in both form and the way in which the four voices interact with each other. It explores different atmospheres through the use of different combinations of both tonal and modal scales.
The first movement is upbeat and extroverted, with underlying tensions explored through quick changes between 4/4 and 8/8 feels in different parts of the ensemble. The eerie second movement features subtle textural and pitch changes with harmonics and sul tasto (bowing over the fingerboard) creating hollow sounds. A scherzo-style third movement follows, with a number of ‘hiccups’ to the driving 3/4 time signature through missing or extra beats, just as the audience gets comfortable. After several ‘false starts’, the work’s final movement is a driving, mixed metre dash to the dramatic conclusion. It takes the form of a four-part fugue and extends this beyond its traditional form through the use of complex melodic devices and octatonic scales.
00:00 I.
02:57 II.
07:05 III.
10:06 IV.
Performed by the Jade String Quartet: Miranda Adams (violin), James Jin (guest violin), Robert Ashworth (viola) and James Yoo (cello) at the Music Theatre, University of Auckland, 12 April 2025.
Filmed and edited by Chris Watson for SOUNZ. Audio recorded by John Kim. Film funded by NZ On Air.
--
Learn more about the composers and performers of music from Aotearoa New Zealand on our website (sounz.org.nz), or by following us on Facebook (@SOUNZnz), Instagram (@sounz_nz), or TikTok (@sounz_nz).
#nzmusic
