Lyric for Strings is a musical composition written by the American composer George Walker.
Originally titled Lament, it was first composed as the second movement of Walker's String Quartet No.
The piece was given its world premiere later that year by the student orchestra of the Curtis Institute of Music conducted by Seymour Lipkin.
[1][2][3] It is cast in a single movement and has a duration of approximately six minutes.
The work is dedicated to Walker's grandmother, Melvina King, a formerly enslaved person, who died shortly before its completion.