39th Annual Student Research Conference
The Admiral-Composer: Exploring Jean Cras's String Quartet
Conner R. Gallagher*, Lainie M. Mueller, Jacob E. Zarosa, and Evan L. O'Day
Dr. Brian X. Kubin, Faculty Mentor
Jean Cras (1879–1932) was a French naval admiral and composer whose works, once highly regarded, are now rarely performed outside of France. In the 2025–26 season, the President’s String Quartet (PSQ) at Truman State University premiers Cras’s sole string quartet (1909) to a North American audience. Often compared to the masterworks of Debussy and Ravel, Cras’s quartet blends a unique Breton musical language with the structural influences of Beethoven, Duparc, Franck, and thematic inspirations from his life at sea. This presentation focuses on the fourth movement, which cyclically reviews the work’s melodic material. Through performance and analysis, the PSQ explores how Cras’s maritime career and many musical influences—Wagnerian, Franckian, Beethovenian, Symbolist, and non-Western idioms—informed his iconoclastic compositional voice. By reviving this "forgotten" masterpiece, we argue for its inclusion alongside the standard French chamber repertoire, and more broadly the inclusion of Cras’s body of work in concert programs at large.
Keywords: Jean Cras, String Quartet, World War 1, France, Music History, Beethoven, Cesar Franck, Music
Topic(s):Music
Art History
History
Presentation Type: Performance Art
Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA