Subtitled “Picabia’s Machines,” this quartet was inspired by the machines and mechanisms of Dadist painter Francis Picabia.
The first of this work’s two movements is a brief episode of lyrical ambiance that reflects a human being’s meditation on his role in life’s growing mechanization. The second movement, considerably longer, is a “moto perpetuo” that imitates machinery in operation. The vivacious pulse, combined with minimalistic motives, alternates with pseudo-improvisatory moments.
This work was premiered in 2003 in Caracas, Venezuela by the Friedman Quartet. The score was revised and slightly extended by the composer in 2013.