Quartet amb piano

Quartet amb piano (1898) by Juli Garreta is a simultaneously unique and important piece of Catalan music from the late nineteenth century. It comes from the composer’s first compositional period and is a fresh, brilliant, rigorous and romantic piece that lasts about 25 minutes.

The first movement is based on a persistent game involving a brief rhythmic cell requiring a high level of technical rigour from performers.

The second movement is the longest and contrasts with the previous due to its warmth. It contains highly intense fragments with strings in unison and a calm end.

Starting with the very first bar, the third movement has a marked dance character, like an allegro valset [a popular Viennese waltz variant], and, finally, the fourth and final one bursts with the energy of four instruments with a highly effective “con fuoco” character.

David Puertas Esteve, musician and journalist