Matthew Aucoin on the Brentano Quartet

Matthew Aucoin is a gifted, young composer, conductor, writer, pianist, and MacArthur Fellow. The World Premiere of his String Quartet takes place this weekend in Schenectady. It’s the second part of a commission by the Union College Concert Series and others for the Brentano Quartet. Aucoin says, “When Mark Steinberg, the Brentano Quartet’s first violinist, approached me about composing a piece for his quartet, I felt both enthusiastic and wary: there are few musical mediums more challenging, more revealing (or, in the end, more rewarding) than the string quartet.” Aucoin spoke with us about the piece, his process and much more.