Listen: Kati Agócs's 'Tantric Variations' at the Library of Congress

On Dec. 17, 2016, the Toronto-based Cecilia String Quartet presented the U.S. premiere of Kati Agócs's Tantric Variations at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Tantric Variations was commissioned by the quartet as part of "Celebrating Canadian Women in Music" – a program which also included composers Katarina Curcin, Zosha Di Castri and Nicole Lizée. Agócs writes in the program notes:

"Tantric," from the Sanskrit, means "woven together": We weave the strands of our nature into a unified whole. The piece concentrates exclusively on an embellishing "turn" around a single note, weaving a continuous trajectory through which the motive finally flowers, bursting open into a more complete version of itself.

This on-demand music is part of a partnership between Q2 Music and Concerts from the Library of Congress to share works that the Library of Congress either commissioned or presented as world or US premieres dating back to the 2009-2010 season.