String Quartet
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
String Quartet No 11 in F minor, Op 95 'Quartetto serioso'
I Allegro con brio II Allegretto ma non troppo III Allegro assai ma serioso – Più allegro IV Larghetto espressivo – Allegro agitato – Allegro
The Quartet comes from 1810, in the latter part of Beethoven's 'middle period', from where the majority of his most popular works derive. With a style at once taut and often violent, it was composed at the same time as his "Egmont' music.
The mood of the quartet, highly intense and disturbed, derives from the aftermath of Beethoven's failed love for Therese Malfatti. In spite of this, a sense of victory permeates final "allegro" of the last movement.
Antonín Dvoràk (1841-1904)
String Quartet No 12 in F major Op 96 'American' B179
I Allegro ma non troppo II Lento III Molto vivace IV Finale. Vivace, ma non troppo
Throughout his adult life, Dvoràk had a fascination for the indigenous music of this own country. It was logical therefore that he should absorb some of the musical culture of the "Red Indian" and "African" races that he encountered during his period in America from 1892 until 1895.
His String Quartet No 12 indeed contains elements derived from those influences, especially rhythmically, and some touches ultilising pentatonic minor scales. However, the overall style remains firmly "Slavonic".
With its wonderful lyricism and exciting rhythms, it deservedly remains one of the composer's most popular and attractive scores. The quartet received its premiere in Boston on 4th January 1894.
|
