Anthony Watson composed his String Quartet No. 1 in 1959, while he was a violist in the National Orchestra of New Zealand. It introduces many of the key musical characteristics found throughout his three string quartets: intense canonic counterpoint, pungent chromaticism and striking rhythmic language.
String Quartet No. 1 is recorded by the New Zealand String Quartet on Anthony Watson: The String Quartets (Continuum CCD 1065)