About this Piece

The Adagio for String Quintet was composed by John Hayhurst, a violist in the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1984.

This piece was inspired by the warmth of Berg, the brevity of Webern, and the structural integrity of both. It’s highly organized, with a six-note theme stated in turn by all instruments. The viola begins the theme and continues with a descending chromatic line, which connects to the final entrance in the bass. Subsequently, chromatic tension is created by theme manipulation in retrograde with the chromatic line ascending, bringing the Adagio to a resolution.

When writing the Adagio in August of 2014, Hayhurst was focused on the structure and its tight form. Upon recently revisiting the Adagio, he noticed a sadness in the music that felt like a melancholy farewell. He later wrote a choral arrangement with lyrics inspired by the last words of Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, and Michael Landon. —Courtesy of John Hayhurst