Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed by the Colorado String Quartet.
I - Choral. Largo: 0:00
IV - Allegretto: 2:58
III - Andante: 3:53
II - Allegro (đť…ź = ca. 60): 6:39
IV - Allegretto: 7:48
I - Choral. Largo: 8:42
II - Allegro (đť…ź = ca. 60): 11:37
III - Andante: 12:47
V - Allegro non troppo: 15:40
Cowell's String Quartet No.3 (also known as the "Mosaic Quartet") was composed in 1935, being premiered on December 11 of 1935, performed by the Modern Art Quartet on the 7th of the WPA Composers' Forum-Laboratories in Midtown Community Center, New York. Later on in 1960, Cowell would reuse much of the music of the quartet for his Symphony No.15 "Thesis". The score wasn't published until 1965, the same year of the composer's death.
The quartet has five short movements (two pages of score each) in five different tempos. The order of the movements, and also the number of times each is played, is left up to the performers. Cowell himself stated the following about the work in a performance note: "The five movements of the Mosaic Quartet may be played in any desired order. One suggested way of performance is to alternate movements as follows: I-II-I-III-IV-III-V-IV-V-I-II-III-IV-V — but any other succession is equally valid. Each movement must be understood as being a unit within the total mosaic pattern of the form."
The first movement is a chorale nominally in E major, harmonically dense and unpredictable, unfolding through freely dissonant counterpoint but with some nearly standard church cadences too. The fourth one is reminiscent of a "valse oubliée" on violins, supported by an ostinato figure. The third movement (the only one where Cowell sets aside his obsession with rhythms based on five-beat groupings) opens with uncanny muted glissandi from the strings before the cello introduces a passionate theme over the glissandi, offering great contrast. The second one is an allegro composed of two contrasting elements; violin and viola harmonics over a pizzicato bassline from the cello. After movements four, one, two and three are repeated, the fifth movement has an angularity and pulse reminiscent of Bartók, featuring sustained triplet rhythms in a closely-woven conversation among the players.
Picture: "Synchromy" (1914) by U.S. painter Morgan Russell.
Sources: tinyurl.com/2dxxcbxf, tinyurl.com/28clcozk and tinyurl.com/28xqzwo7
To check the score: tinyurl.com/24k4rbju
Performed by the Colorado String Quartet.
I - Choral. Largo: 0:00
IV - Allegretto: 2:58
III - Andante: 3:53
II - Allegro (đť…ź = ca. 60): 6:39
IV - Allegretto: 7:48
I - Choral. Largo: 8:42
II - Allegro (đť…ź = ca. 60): 11:37
III - Andante: 12:47
V - Allegro non troppo: 15:40
Cowell's String Quartet No.3 (also known as the "Mosaic Quartet") was composed in 1935, being premiered on December 11 of 1935, performed by the Modern Art Quartet on the 7th of the WPA Composers' Forum-Laboratories in Midtown Community Center, New York. Later on in 1960, Cowell would reuse much of the music of the quartet for his Symphony No.15 "Thesis". The score wasn't published until 1965, the same year of the composer's death.
The quartet has five short movements (two pages of score each) in five different tempos. The order of the movements, and also the number of times each is played, is left up to the performers. Cowell himself stated the following about the work in a performance note: "The five movements of the Mosaic Quartet may be played in any desired order. One suggested way of performance is to alternate movements as follows: I-II-I-III-IV-III-V-IV-V-I-II-III-IV-V — but any other succession is equally valid. Each movement must be understood as being a unit within the total mosaic pattern of the form."
The first movement is a chorale nominally in E major, harmonically dense and unpredictable, unfolding through freely dissonant counterpoint but with some nearly standard church cadences too. The fourth one is reminiscent of a "valse oubliée" on violins, supported by an ostinato figure. The third movement (the only one where Cowell sets aside his obsession with rhythms based on five-beat groupings) opens with uncanny muted glissandi from the strings before the cello introduces a passionate theme over the glissandi, offering great contrast. The second one is an allegro composed of two contrasting elements; violin and viola harmonics over a pizzicato bassline from the cello. After movements four, one, two and three are repeated, the fifth movement has an angularity and pulse reminiscent of Bartók, featuring sustained triplet rhythms in a closely-woven conversation among the players.
Picture: "Synchromy" (1914) by U.S. painter Morgan Russell.
Sources: tinyurl.com/2dxxcbxf, tinyurl.com/28clcozk and tinyurl.com/28xqzwo7
To check the score: tinyurl.com/24k4rbju
