Beethoven
composed the “Harp” quartet in 1809 while under extreme personal and political
duress. He had proposed to his teenaged
pupil, Therese Malfatti, and was devastated by her
parents’ rejection; the French army, after bombarding and laying siege to the
city had occupied Vienna; and, although he had been granted an annual stipend
from three noblemen, for whatever reason he continued to live in utmost
squalor. The account of the composer
cowering in a cellar during the shelling of Vienna, pillow clamped over his
ears to save his little remaining hearing, dates from this time. It is not surprising that, given these
difficult conditions, in the E-flat major quartet Beethoven does not explore
uncharted territory but rather demonstrates a consolidation of previous
accomplishments.
The placid flow of the first movement, Poco
Adagio, although interrupted by powerful chords, continues in unruffled tranquility
to a transition that includes the first appearance of the pizzicato figure that
gives the quartet its nickname. The Adagio, a movement of intense
spirituality, presages his late, great quartets. It revolves around a tender thrice-repeated
main theme. The simple melodies convey a
great richness of emotional content, contrasted first in a despondent minor key
and later more optimistically.
The concentrated energy and drive of the Presto fades into a
hushed transition to the last movement, which follows without pause. The disarming finale, a theme and six
alternating variations, leads to a high-speed, brilliant conclusion.
In the
early 1920’s, Germany was a country in great turmoil, as Communists, royalists,
army groups, and Hitler’s National Socialists were all struggling to overthrow
the weak Weimar Republic. Inflation
raged out of control and an air of hopelessness and disillusion pervaded the
nation. Hindemith’s Third String Quartet
is very much a product of those times.
The first movement opens with a serene fugue, which passes
among the four instruments. It builds to
an agitated climax, subsides over a pulsing pizzicato rhythm in the cello,
fades and disappears. In shocking
contrast, a barbaric explosion of sound launches the second movement with its
savage, disjointed rhythms hammered out by the entire quartet. A quieter, lyric interlude follows, soon
overwhelmed by a return of the opening character. The hauntingly melodic third movement, played
entirely with mutes, is considered the heart of the quartet with its flowing
steady sound and underlying pulse. The
fourth movement, a series of flamboyant cadenza-like passages, proceeds without
pause to the fifth movement, a quiet, “baroque” two-part invention followed by
a highly condensed reminder of the opening.
The last of Mendelssohn’s Opus 44 quartets to
be completed, the one in D Major was the first to be published. By his own admission, it was Mendelssohn’s
favorite, which is, perhaps, why it was the first to appear in print.
The quartet’s particularly spirited first
movement, marked Molto Allegro vivace, fairly crackles with energy and
exuberance. All instruments share in the
extension of the lusty principal theme.
In sharp contrast to the free-flying opening, the second subject is
restrained and introverted. With but a
few moments of repose, the recapitulation and coda carry the movement to the
end. Mendelssohn replaces the expected
second movement scherzo with a gentle Menuetto
that serves as a calming, moderating influence after the high-powered first
movement. Its middle section offers a
ceaseless flow of eighth notes played against either long sustained notes or
little snatches of counter melody. The Menuetto returns, much shortened, to end the
movement.
After the two quiet inner movements,
Mendelssohn offers a brilliant finale.
The Presto con brio is a fiery salterallo
— his version of a high-spirited sixteenth century Italian dance form. The movement’s second theme, a soft, lyrical
descending line offers a pleasant contrast to the energetic salterallo,
and the movement ends with irresistible sweep and drive.
exquisite music - superbly performed