String Quartet Op. 20, No. 2 in C Major – Haydn

Haydn's set of six string quartets Op. 20 was composed in 1772 and dedicated to the Hungarian diplomat Nikolaus Zmeskall von Domanovecz. Collectively, they have been nicknamed the "Sun" quartets, after the illustration of a sunrise on the front cover of the first edition. By the time of the quartet in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2, Haydn had arrived at what was to become a standard four-movement form, with the slow, weighty second movement, and minuet and trio third movement.

The opening of the first movement is unusually scored as a string trio, with the cello taking the melody and the viola functioning as the bass instrument. This is followed by a transfer of the melody to the first violin as the music shifts to the dominant. The quartet does not play together as a whole until the twelfth bar, displaying Haydn's innovative exploration of the different textural possibilities within the string quartet. The overall mood is dignified and optimistic. The development however is turbulent and dramatic, and begins with the second violin providing a rugged arpeggiated accompaniment to the thematic fragments passed between the first violin and cello. Dramatic statements of the first subject in the minor key are passed between the instruments before the music settles down to the recapitulation. The movement ends quietly and simply which provides for great contrast with the opening of the next movement.

The second movement is a freeform fantasy in the key of c minor. It begins with a declamation of the theme by all the instruments in unison. This is followed by the same theme, played softly as a cello solo, over pulsing sixteenth-note chords in the other instruments. Further dialogues between unison-ensemble and soloist/accompanists ensue, in a manner very reminiscent of recitativo style prevalent in oratorios of the day. The writing sweetens in the central section; an arioso-style melody in the first violin beginning in the relative major key of E-Flat Major. Another dramatic unison interlude clears the stage for the second violin to take the aria melody. However, this is quickly interrupted by another unison scale. The second violin tries again, is interrupted again, and then the music winds down and segues directly into the third movement.

The Minuet, in C Major, is interesting in its use of a drone under the main theme and constantly shifting textures. By adding double stops and removing instruments Haydn has anywhere from two to five parts playing at any one time. The Trio, in c minor, begins with a sequential cello melody accompanied by chords with beautiful suspensions in the other voices. Reminders of the dramatic unison writing from the second movement follow before the trio closes softly over a dominant pedal in preparation for the return to the minuet.

Within the Opus 20 set, three of the finales are fugues with differing numbers of subjects. Haydn was able to manipulate this form to great effect and create finales which combine effervescent virtuosity with satisfying compositional substance. C Major quartet's finale is a fugue with no less than four subjects. Its scampering nature is enhanced by an instruction to play sotto voce (beneath the voice, i.e. extremely softly). The first subject is a full theme in itself, but the remaining subjects are little more than melodic fragments. They thus lend themselves extremely well to their rapid passing from voice to voice, and the result is an excitement generated by quick-fire changes in instrumentation. Around two thirds of the way through the movement, Haydn marks al roverscio and cleverly inverts the main subject. The coda is the first time that the composer marks a new dynamic of forte, and concludes the work with a rousing unison passage for all four instruments based on the inverted version of the first subject.

Cristantemi – Puccini

Giacomo Puccini himself acknowledged that his true talent lay "only in the theater," and so his non-operatic works are understandably few. But there are more of them than the average concertgoer might imagine. The string quartet was a medium for which Puccini had a certain undeniable affinity, and over the years he composed some five works or groups of pieces for it. All of these string quartet pieces have been virtually forgotten except for the elegy, Crisantemi ("Chrysanthemums"), that Puccini wrote in 1890 – in a single night, he said – as a response to the death of the Duke of Savoy. Crisantemi is a single, dark-hued, continuous movement. Puccini found his two liquid melodic ideas worthy enough to re-use in the last act of his opera, Manon Lescaut, of 1893. Almost never heard in its original string quartet guise, Crisantemi frequented the music stands of the world's orchestras in an arrangement for string orchestra throughout the twentieth century.


String Quartet No. 6 – Bartók

Bartók composed his String quartet No. 6 in 1939, and it was dedicated to the Kolisch Quartet. By the time of its premiere in New York in 1941 by the Kolisch Quartet, Bartók was already living in the US after being forced to leave Hungary. His sixth and last quartet was also the last work he composed while in Hungary and it was written in reaction to World War II. The work is deeply rooted in a persistent melancholy. Even through the humorous movements, the Marcia and the Burletta, the humor is more grotesque and sardonic.

Every movement starts with a Mesto ("sad"), a mournful melody that gives a sense of loss. The composer's mother had just passed away, his health was declining and his homeland, Hungary, was showing the struggles of fascism. This melody deepens into a sense of tragedy in the last movement. The viola alone introduces the Mesto for the first time in the opening of the work setting the mood for the entire work. The first movement is in sonata form and the Mesto is interrupted by a pesante four-part unison which leads into the main Vivace tempo. This pesante returns later to mark the beginning of the development. After a shorter recapitulation, the movement ends quietly in D major.

The second movement starts with a two-voice setting of the same Mesto melody. The core of the movement is a Marcia, a sinister dance based on a cell of dotted and lopsided rhythms and whining glissandos in the violins. The middle section becomes a wild and rhapsodic improvisation played by the cello, accompanied by strumming pizzicatti in the viola, which is then answered intensely by the first violin on the g string.

The third movement opens with a three-part setting of the Mesto. After a quiet end of the sad melody, a moderato erupts suddenly with strong arcos and pounding repeating chords. This movement is called Burletta which literally means "little joke". Despite the strong introduction to the Burletta, the movement itself is actually not quite as jagged as the Marcia; the violins play the main tune a quarter tone apart. The movement becomes more rhythmically active and leads to a calmer trio section that is still melancholic.

The last movement is a fully harmonized four-voice setting of the Mesto melody but this time is extended to become the whole movement and the sum of the whole quartet. It has a tone of despair and resignation, the end of hopes for a better future for humanity. It is only at the very end of the piece that we hear some hope. We hear half of the tune for a last time, this time by the cello plucking the first five notes of the theme with an open end, which may suggest a little light at the end of the tunnel.


Polka (Ca.1931) – Shostakovich

Shostakovich is widely regarded as one of the most important contributors to the literature for string quartet. His output for the medium was profound and prolific; his fifteen quartets are intimate masterpieces, documenting a life with more than its fair share of struggle and pain. Shostakovich didn't turn to the string quartet seriously until he was already well established and secure in his compositional style. However, in the 1980's the English group, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, was presented with a pair of heretofore unknown early movements for string quartet. The State Copyright Agency in Moscow sent the music to the quartet who had worked closely with Shostakovich and given the Western Premiere of his final quartet. Shostakovich had dedicated the movements to the J. Vuillaume Quartet. The first of the two pieces is an Elegy based on material from his 1934 opera "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk". Its companion piece is a transcription of a Polka from his 1930 ballet, "The Age Of Gold". The Polka is full of tongue-in-cheek wit, its melody (originally played on the xylophone) transcribes beautifully to the pizzicato first violin. It is as close as we have to a string quartet representing Shostakovich's earlier more optimistic style.