String Quartet No. 1 was written in 1994. The first movement, Allegretto, introduced by the cello, is an arch form divided into three sections. Lyrical fragments intertwine with dynamic ones; strong contrasts appear. The second movement consists of a precisely constructed slow fugue; the subject's returns move up in fourths, until the whole chromatic scale has been exhausted. The last movement, Allegretto con vigore is a lively and capricious scherzo.