Tombeau-Aria (2003) for string quartet was commissioned for the Premieres Festival in
Kyiv, Ukraine and was composed and dedicated in memory of American composer Meyer
Kupferman (July 3, 1926 - November 26, 2003).
The work is a brief aria -- a solo violin plays a melody exploring a fixed position 12-note
chord over a moving passacaglia idea of inwards moving chords in the viola and cello. A
reposed coda explores the same material at a slower pace.