Before his String Quartet No. 2, Philip Glass did not compose for the string quartet medium for almost two decades. He withdrew his first quartet in 1963, even though it had already been published. He finished his first quartet in 1966 and hinted at his later minimalist style with the many repetitive layers weaved throughout the composition. When he composed his second quartet, his signature harmonic progressions and rhythmic motifs and gestures had become well established. His second quartet was not initially conceived as chamber music, but for theatre instead. In Paris in the 1960s, Glass collaborated with the Mabou Mines theater group, married one its members, JoAnne Akalaitis, and provided music for several productions the group performed. For their production of Samuel Beckett’s Company, Glass wanted to be able to take the music away from the action and have the piece be performable as a stand-alone work. His second quartet consists of four short and related movements. The first movement contains a series of variations with a simple harmonic progression and a static tonal center with intricate inner lines. The monochrome atmosphere of this movement highlights the instrument balance and the subtle shifting textures. The second movement contains the same harmonic framework, but demonstrates faster and more dominant figures with a stable rhythmic undercurrent. The third movement acts as further development of the first movement with small harmonic alterations and more complex textures. Similar to the third movement, the fourth elaborates on the tension of the second movement between duple and triple meters, but with a melancholy tone that fades to a whisper to end the piece.