Quartet for Strings no. 2 was written shortly after graduating from Goldsmith's College, with players from the Viola d'Amore Society in mind. There is a programmatic element to this work - the opening depicting the Malvern Hills in the snow in January; two arguing lovers are walking across these peaks, clearly at each others throats (but just about managing to keep control of their emotions), yet ever aware of the vastness of their surroundings. In the second faster section, things come to a head, and in a fit of rage one of the protagonists kills the other by 'accidentally' pushing them off a rocky outcrop.