The Music of George Frederick McKay Formosa Quartet

• George Frederick McKay (1899-1970): Quartet No.1 “American Sketches”:
• 1 McKay: Quartet No.1 “American Sketches”: Allegro maestoso ed appassionato 08:18
• 2 McKay: Quartet No.1 “American Sketches”: Andantino lontano 07:49
• 3 McKay: Quartet No.1 “American Sketches”: Allegro giocoso 05:35
• Quartet No.2 “Appassionato”:
• 4 McKay: Quartet No.2 “Appassionato”: Allegro marcato 04:41
• 5 McKay: Quartet No.2 “Appassionato”: Moderato espressivo 08:01
• 6 McKay: Quartet No.2 “Appassionato”: Allegro energico 03:48
• Quartet No.3 “Poem of Life and Death”:
• 7 McKay: Quartet No.3 “Poem of Life and Death”: Moderato poetico 08:21
• 8 McKay: Quartet No.3 “Poem of Life and Death”: Allegretto grazioso 04:11
• 9 McKay: Quartet No.3 “Poem of Life and Death”: Adagio espressivo 05:16
• 10 McKay: Quartet No.3 “Poem of Life and Death”: Allegro vigoroso 04:55
• Quartet No.4 “Misteri Del Balboa”:
• 11 McKay: Quartet No.4 “Misteri Del Balboa”: Energico molto e marcato 04:37
• 12 McKay: Quartet No.4 “Misteri Del Balboa”: Andantino lontano e mistico 06:42
• 13 McKay: Quartet No.4 “Misteri Del Balboa”: Allegro, scherzoso, molto vigoroso 03:42
• Total Runtime 01:15:56

Info for The Music of George Frederick McKay

In 2023 the Formosa Quartet, winners of the prestigious Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, embarked on a new recording project featuring the four string quartets of American composer George Frederick McKay. Renowned for their adventurous programming, the quartet recorded these reflective, playful, and intricate works at the historic Bastyr Chapel in Kenmore, Washington, with GRAMMY award-winning producer David Sabee. This world-premiere recording will be the first commercial release of these string quartets (said to be McKay's favourite compositional form) and will celebrate the 125th anniversary of his birth. Written between the 1930s and 1950s, McKay's quartets reflect his distinctive musical language, shaped by influences ranging from Civil War-era folk songs and Native American melodies to avant-garde satire from Seattle's urban scene.

George Frederick McKay (June 11, 1899-October 4, 1970) was a prolific composer and author, born a year after Gershwin, whose music evokes “…a vigorous blend of influences, including Civil War Era folksongs sung to him by his grandparents; old Fiddlers' Tunes handed down in the family; Northwest Native American Songs and Dances, and Avant-Garde satire from the Seattle urban scene” (George Frederick McKay Estate).

Over his lifetime, he composed several hundred musical works, of which 250 volumes have been published, and taught at the University of Washington, Seattle for 41 years. During his time at the university, he brought talented musicians such as William Grant Still, Béla Bartók and Frederick Fennel to Seattle and among his many students, mentored William Bolcom (Pulitzer prizewinning composer), Goddard Lieberson (President of Columbia Records from 1956-1971 and 1973-1975), and Earl Hawley Robinson (composer, arranger and folk music singer-songwriter of popular songs and Hollywood films). Throughout his lifetime, he also met and conversed with Gershwin, Villa Lobos, and Chavez as part of his University hosting activities, and he mentored and collaborated with John Cage in the late 1930's.

McKay String Quartets No. 1 and 2 were written during the 1930's and Quartets No. 3 and 4 were completed during a sabbatical leave in the 1950's at Seaside Oregon and Balboa Island, CA. McKay String Quartet No. 2 was performed by the Philadelphia String Quartet and it was later broadcast on NBC 1939, performed by players from Toscanini's Symphony of that era.

Formosa Quartet

Formosa Quartet
Winners of the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition, the FORMOSA QUARTET has been hailed as “spellbinding” (The Strad) and “remarkably fine” (Gramophone), and has given critically acclaimed performances at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Da Camera Society of Los Angeles, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center, the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Wigmore Hall in London, die Glocke Bremen, and the Kammermusiksaal at the Berliner Philharmonie.

For two decades and counting, the Formosa Quartet has forged uncharted musical terrain in performances that go “beyond the beautiful and into the territory of unexpectedly thrilling… like shots of pure espresso” (MUSO Magazine). The founding members’ interest in championing Taiwanese music and Indigenous cultures has since expanded to include the exploration of the rich folk traditions and heritages found in America today. Whether in its uncompromisingly exploratory approach to the standard quartet literature; its socioculturally probing American Mirror Project; or its unique Sets curated from its collection of folk, pop, jazz, and poetry arrangements, the Formosa Quartet is committed to an insatiable search for the fresh and new in string quartet expression.

The Formosa Quartet undertakes a variety of residencies at organizations and institutions across North America and Asia. The ensemble serves as the Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music, Faculty Quartet-in-Residence at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYOC) and has enjoyed residencies at Art of Élan; Rice University, University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Diego; San Diego State University, and Heidelberg University. During the 2023-2024 season, they held the M. Thelma McAndless Distinguished Professor Chair in the Humanities at Eastern Michigan University where they launched their American Mirror Project, a collaborative initiative that holds up mirrors and highlights personal reflections on the history, identity, and meaning of "America” through a thought-provoking exploration of American music.

The Formosa Quartet has played a leading role in actively commissioning new works, contributing significantly to the modern string quartet repertory. FQ’s 2019 milestone album From Hungary to Taiwan includes premiere recordings of three Formosa commissions: Lei Liang’s Song Recollections, Dana Wilson’s Hungarian Folk Songs, and Wei-Chieh Lin’s Five Taiwanese Folk Songs. Other works composed for the quartet include pieces by Dana Wilson, Wei-Chieh Lin, Shih-Hui Chen, and Clancy Newman. Forthcoming commissions and premieres include works by Angelique Poteat, Paul Novak, and Shih-Hui Chen.

The members of the Formosa Quartet – Jasmine Lin, David Bernat, Matthew Cohen, and Deborah Pae – have established themselves as leading solo, chamber, and orchestral musicians. With degrees from the Juilliard School, Curtis Institute of Music, New England Conservatory, Colburn Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music, they have performed in major venues throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe and have been top prizewinners in prestigious competitions such as the Paganini, Primrose, Fischoff, and Naumburg competitions. As chamber musicians, they have appeared regularly at the Marlboro, Kingston, Santa Fe, and Ravinia festivals, as well as at Lincoln Center, La Jolla Summerfest, Caramoor, and Chamber Music Northwest. The members of the Formosa Quartet currently serve on faculty at Eastern Michigan University, Roosevelt University, and Heifetz International Music Institute. They have previously taught at the Taos School of Music and the Juilliard School.

Formed in 2002 when the four Taiwanese-descended founders came together for a concert tour of Taiwan, the Formosa Quartet’s cultural identity has since expanded to include broader American, pan-Asian, and Eastern European roots. Their name “Formosa” is taken in its most basic sense: Portuguese for “beautiful.”

The Formosa Quartet forms an octet with violins Andrea Guarneri (1662) and Samuel Zygmuntowicz (1984), a Peter Westerlund viola (2014), and a Vincenzo Postiglione cello (1885).

Booklet for The Music of George Frederick McKay