String Quartet No.1 is my first attempt to write for this medium. The first movement, written in 2004, features exploration of the very simple motive heard at the beginning, consisting of straight eighth notes in 6/8 meter. Sometimes it is presented as a descending/ascending chromatic motion, sometimes twisted around the pitches, sometimes harmonized, and so on. The pulsing motion of the motive is almost always present in the piece so that the music maintains its drive. Five years after the completion of the first movement, I started to rethink the possibilities of this medium and decided to add two more movements make this piece a multi-movement one. There are some shared movitic ideas among all the movements. The second movement is a short adagio, written in chorale style. While carrying on a motive from the previous movement, its slow and calm character contrasts with the surrounding movements. The vigorous third movement is in a five-part rondo form with a fugue-like texture at the beginning and a mellow tuneful theme in the middle. As the movement unfolds, materials from the first movement return sometimes obviously, sometimes subliminally. Eventually the entire piece ends as if it had started from the beginning again.