McKay, a passionate athlete, was fascinated by the physicality of dance as it related to music, and collaborated with figures like Henry Cowell and John Cage on dance projects.
Composer Biography
McKay earned the first composition degree awarded at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Christian Sinding and Selim Palmgren.
Composer's Artistic Vision
McKay believed composing music was inextricably linked to everyday life, stating in an interview that 'art is part of living'.
Composer Biography
George Frederick McKay, known as the 'Dean of Northwest Composers,' was a Professor of Music at the University of Washington for 41 years.
Composition History
George Frederick McKay considered string quartets his preferred compositional form and kept a notebook of quartet sketches for at least ten years.
Performer Biography
The Formosa Quartet won the First Prize and Amadeus Prize at the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.
Instruments
The Formosa Quartet performs on an Andrea Guarneri violin from 1662, a Joseph Curtin violin from 2001, a Peter Westerlund viola from 2014, and a Vincenzo Postiglione cello from 1885.
You might also enjoy...
Lawrence Rose: String Quartets
Pizzetti: String Quartets in A Major and D Major
Strauss: String Quartet in A Major Op.2 - Kreisler: String Quartet in A Minor
Glière: String Quartets Nos. 1 & 2
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (Arr. E. Impellizzeri for String Quartet)
Pizzetti: String Quartet Nos. 1 & 2
Glazunov: String Quartets Vol. 1
Pizzetti: String Quartets in A Major and D Major
Nielsen, C.: String Quartets, Vol. 1
Draeseke: String Quartets, Vol. 1
Grechaninov: String Quartets Vol. 1
Wolf: String Quartet in D Minor, Intermezzo in E-Flat Major & Serenade in G Major "Italienische"
Mendelssohn, Felix: String Quartet No. 2 / Grieg, E.: String Quartet in G Minor
