The Piano Quartet was commissioned by The Boston Conservatory Chamber Ensemble to commemorate the 125th anniversary of The Boston Conservatory. The work was begun and completed in July of 1991 at the American Academy in Rome and was premiered February 9, 1992.

The first movement, fantasia soli, is a sonata form with four themes, one for each instrument. The violin plays con bravura, the viola plays agitato, the ‘cello appassionata, and the piano maestoso. Each instrument plays in its own time and sound world with overlapping cadenzas. The differences among the instrumental characters are reconciled only by sharing the harmonic structure common to all movements.

The second movement, Scherzando duettini, is a light contrast to the first movement. The initial four themes are here reduced to two that imitate one another mockingly. Movement three, Canto a tre voce, or song in three voices, is a lyrical nocturne with a surprising central section in which a song is “discovered,” uniting the disparate conflicts of the first two movements. The fourth movement, Partita di quattro, or “foursome,” is a rondo finale that emphasizes unison rhythms and general agreement while each instrumental pair retains its own individuality.