Rehearsal of Roger Sessions’ String Quartet No. 2

The Griller String Quartet (Sidney Griller and Jack O’Brien - violins, Philip Burton - viola, Colin Hampton - cello) rehearses “String Quartet No. 2” (1951) by Roger Sessions. This piece, the last before Sessions began to incorporate serial techniques in his music, features some use of twelve-tone technique, within a structure built from themes and variations. The composer works in fine detail with the Quartet, dealing with issues of articulation, dynamics, bowing, and tempo. Sessions clarifies specific gestures and figures, and balances the ensemble to emphasize specific voices in specific passages. The ensemble further discusses with the composer what adjustments will need to be made for their upcoming performance at Wheeler Hall on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley.