RAPPROCHEMENT (STRING QUARTET #3)
“It’s a lyrical piece, and the instructions call for a lot of fluidity with beautiful solos for each member of the quartet...I asked Shiffman why he chose to program all of the premiere performances of Agócs’s piece in a single concert. He said, “Look at the audience. It is the most popular concert of the competition.” - SEQUENZA21, “Nine Premiere Performances by Kati Agócs at Banff International String Quartet Competition”, 12 September 2025 (Gail Wein)
“Rapprochement is a beautiful study in textures that displays well-contrasted lyricism, affirming song-like qualities while not neglecting formal and timbral exploration. It is an excellently-written piece which, within very rigorous formal parameters, grants the performers a great deal of freedom, and in that sense emerges as an intelligent ‘competition piece’.“ SCHERZO (Spain) - Scherzo.es: Revista de música clásica (Spain), “El Cuarteto Poiesis se alza con el primer premio en el Concurso Internacional de Cuartetos de Cuerda de Banff”, 3 September 2025 (Juan Lucas), translated from the Spanish by Evan Haskin
“Lyrical beauty and drama ….her nine-minute work offered delicate sounds with high pitches that echoed a bit from one instrumentalist to another. At one point the music took on the character of a Hungarian folk dance, and a dies irae-like phrase briefly emerged. After several seesawing chords the piece ended with a calming resolution.” - OREGON ARTSWATCH, “It’s BISQC or Bust! Large Group of Portlanders make the trek to Banff”, 16 September 2025 (James Bash)
“Agócs has a penchant for lyricism; she writes a tune one may find oneself humming at the end of a performance. In the case of Rapprochement, the flavour of its most prominent lyrical element might generically be referred to as middle eastern; melodic lines with a harmonic minor interval arrangement, or some modal variation on that sound…its many ideas flowed from one to the next in a narrative that never jarred, although there were spots that did rise to a dramatic peak, however briefly. Much of the piece maintained a wistful, harmonically accessible quality...” - LA SCENA MUSICALE, “New Kati Agócs commission at Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC)”, 30 August 2025 (Bill Rankin)
“All nine groups played Rapprochement, a lyrical and multihued movement by Kati Agócs, in the compulsory commission round. ‘I liked the word rapprochement [from the French "to approach"] because it's an international word,’ Agócs explained from the stage. ‘[The piece] starts harmonized in tenths and ends in thirds - it's coming together after a distance, and that’s what the piece is about.’ An improvisatory tune weaves through the parts before breaking off in surprising directions. When you least expect it the lines band together in sonorous chants, jaunty rhythmic exchanges, and glassy chords. The most delicate interpreters of Agócs’s work were the players of the Seoul-based Arete Quartet. Quatuor Magenta made the piece move; everything was airy and easy. The Viatores players assiduously honored Agócs's legato indications; their detaché was thick like brownie batter. This round’s prize for best performance went to the Poiesis Quartet, and they played vibrantly, but every group brought something of interest.” – SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE, “At Banff International String Quartet Competition, New Music Wins the Day”, 9 Septemner 2025 (Rebecca Wishnia)