Renowned jazz composer and conductor Vanessa Perica has turned her wonderfully creative hand to the string quartet form in a major new work, her String Quartet No. 1, No Feeling is Final. Her quartet was commissioned by the ASQ and portrays a distressing period in Perica’s life when her husband required heart surgery.

The Maestoso adagietto first movement opens with a powerfully declarative theme in all four instruments that is then repeated. Lyrical passages emerge creating a sense of forward, determined momentum punctuated by moments of slow, sweet tenderness — a paraphrase of life lived fully.

The Allegro second movement opens with a hurried rhythm and becomes urgent, perhaps reflecting the need for Perica’s husband to seek medical attention. The Adagio third movement features ethereal motives in the violins over a passionately lyrical theme in the cello and viola. A heartfelt violin statement of joy and relief precedes the final Prestissimo movement, which opens with a sudden, dramatic riff and a return to the driving rhythms heard earlier. This emotionally charged quartet’s conclusion is vibrantly celebratory.

Australian String Quartet: Rapture. Photo © Sam Jozeps

At 20 minutes in length, No Feeling...