Eleanor Alberga (b.1949) is a Jamaican composer, who began her career as a concert pianist as well as an improviser for the London Contemporary Dance Theater. Supposedly, her improvisations there were so powerful that people started commissioning her to write them down. Her compositional style can be abstract but always maintains a spirited sense of consonant harmony as well as elements of rhythm and dance.
Her String Quartet No.2 is a brilliant masterwork containing moments of both chaos and beauty. The structure of the piece consists of very repetitive fragmented motives that develop throughout the work. The chaos of the piece represents the chaos of life and the beauty of the piece represents how in the midst of all of that chaos and uncertainty, life can still be profound and worth celebrating.
Alexandra Cooreman, violin
Haerim Oh, violin
Romain-Olivier Grey, cello
Annis Ma, viola
Recorded by Drew Schlegel at the Curtis Institute of Music on December 6th, 2023.