-
BARTKString Quartets
(Complete)Vermeer Quartet
2 CDs8.557543-44 8
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557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 8
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8.557543-447
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8.554718
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The string quartets of Bla Bartk occupy a centralposition in the
classical repertoire of the twentiethcentury. Not only are they a
milestone in the evolutionof the quartet literature, but, along
with those by Haydnand Beethoven, they provide an overview of
theircomposers output at all the main junctures of hiscareer. This
might be thought surprising when oneremembers that Bartk was a
pianist by training and,latterly, by profession, though the store
he set by themedium is confirmed by the way in which each of
thequartets exemplifies those facets of his music whichpreoccupied
him prior to, and during the course of itscomposition. It is this,
coupled with the intrinsic qualityof each work, that gives the
cycle its inclusiveness andsignificance in the context of Western
music as a whole.
Although he had written several quartets in hisadolescence,
Bartk was 27 before he embarked on hisfirst acknowledged work in
the medium. While thepieces that precede it, notably the Rhapsody
for Pianoand Orchestra (1904), the Second Orchestral Suite(1907),
the Bagatelles for piano (1908) and the FirstViolin Concerto
(1908), evince a gradually evolvingpersona, only with the First
Quartet (1909) did heachieve a convincing amalgam of main
influences,notably Strauss and Debussy, such as allows his ownvoice
to come through. Moreover, for all that it recallsthese composers
in its harmonic intricacy andexpressive license, the impact of
folk-song, whichBartk had been collecting for barely two years,
isalready apparent in the rhythmic drive and cumulativemomentum
that informs this music.
The three movements proceed without pause, suchthat the second
is in constant acceleration, in contrast tothe uniform tempo of the
first, and with the generallyfast finale itself prefaced by a slow
introduction. Thesighing motif which begins the Lento will permeate
allaspects of the piece: whether the expressive polyphonyto which
it gives rise, or (beginning with reiterated cellochords) the more
melodic dialogue which forms the
central section. The Allegretto that follows is in
constantsearch of a stable tempo, keeping its material in a stateof
flux, though with a repeated-note motif as animportant formal
marker. Its uncertainty is decisivelycountered by an Introduzione
which, by means ofunison gestures and solo recitatives, leads to
the Allegrovivace, dominated by a folk-like theme initiated by
thecello. A more expansive passage divides off the twomain sections
of this finale, which culminates in apungent reprise of the main
theme and a powerful codauniting all of the salient ideas in
affirmative accord.
The years that followed were among the mostdifficult of Bartks
career. With the opera DukeBluebeards Castle (1911) having been
rejected by theBudapest Opera as unperformable, and the
stylisticallyambivalent ballet The Wooden Prince (1916)
remainingunorchestrated for several years, he largely withdrewfrom
active involvement in musical life to concentrateon his folk-song
researches. The length of time that heworked on the Second Quartet
(1915-17) is partlyexplained by this enforced period of isolation,
partly bythe overriding need to fashion a musical language inwhich
the art and folk music aspects of his creativitywere allowed to
find their natural equilibrium. Thesynthesis has been all but made
in the present quartet,which ranks among his most inward and
personalachievements.
There are again three movements, this timefollowing the
slow-fast-slow format which frequentlyfound favour in the twentieth
century. The openingModerato grows from a searching theme on
viola,which, after a modally-inflected idea has providedcontrast,
propels the impassioned central climax. Avaried and intensified
recall of the main material leadsinto the pensively ambivalent
close. If this movementmarks the limit of Bartks late-romantic
leanings, thescherzo that follows clearly points the way forward.
Themotoric rhythms of its main theme and the yearning triosection
breathe the spirit of peasant culture, while the
Bla Bartk (1881-1945)The Six String Quartets
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 2
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8.557543-44 6
CD 1 75:49String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 (1908-1909) 29:241 I Lento
attacca 9:082 II Poco a poco accelerando Allegretto 8:263 III
Introduzione Allegro attacca: Allegro vivace 11:50
String Quartet No. 3 (1927) 15:174 Prima parte: Moderato
attacca: 4:545 Seconda parte: Allegro attacca: 5:376
Ricapitulazione della prima parte: Moderato Coda: Allegro molto
4:45
String Quartet No. 5 (1934) 31:097 I Allegro 7:288 II Adagio
molto 6:019 III Scherzo 5:180 IV Andante 5:08! V Finale: Allegro
vivace 7:13
CD 2 78:34String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17 (1915-1917) 26:191 I
Moderato 9:582 II Allegro molto capriccioso 7:373 III Lento
8:43
String Quartet No. 4 (1928) 23:084 I Allegro 6:155 II
Prestissimo, con sordino 3:086 III Non troppo lento 5:127 IV
Allegretto pizzicato 2:498 V Allegro molto 5:45
String Quartet No. 6 (1939) 29:069 I Mesto Pi mosso, pesante
Vivace 7:380 II Mesto Marcia 7:44! III Mesto Burletta 7:12@ IV
Mesto 6:32
8.557543-443
scurrying coda anticipates the angular musicalexpression to
come. The finale returns to the inwardnessof hitherto, its terse
initial motif spawning a freely-evolving theme which together
define the harmonic andmelodic content of the Lento as a whole. The
closingbars are not so much defeatist as fatalistic - as thoughthe
composers solitude had afforded him a measure
ofself-recognition.
The intensity of this piece was maintained in thosethat
followed, above all, the brutal pantomime TheMiraculous Mandarin
(1919) and the two ViolinSonatas (1921 and 1922), in which Bartks
musicapproaches a peak of chromatic intensity. Then, in theunlikely
guise of a Dance Suite (1923) written tocommemorate the founding of
the modern Hungariancapital, he broke through to a harmonically
more clear-cut manner that was to have profound consequences forthe
works to come. Three years of relative silence werebroken by music
written for himself to play, namely theFirst Piano Concerto, the
Piano Sonata, and the Out ofDoors suite (all 1926). Then, in the
Third Quartet(1927), Bartk achieved an integration of folk
idiomswith a Beethovenian contrapuntal resource such he asnot to
surpass.
Although it unfolds as a seamless whole, the quartetcomprises
two main parts which themselves divide intofour sections, the work
thus following a sonata-formlayout in principle as well as in
spirit. The Prima partepresents the principal ideas, respectively
ruminative andmalevolent, in the manner of an exposition, before
anacerbic climax and a modally-inflected codetta. TheSeconda parte
is launched with a pizzicato idea, whichprovides the motivation for
a tumultuous developmentof the material heard thus far: many of the
playingtechniques synonymous with Bartks later quartetwriting are
here used extensively for the first time. At itsapex, the music
spills over into the Recapitulazionedella prima parte, a
transformed and generallyrestrained reprise of the main ideas, with
which thework seems to be heading for a muted close. The Codasteals
in, however, to draw the motivic threads into ataut continuum,
laying bare the musics harmonic and
tonal premises with breathtaking conclusiveness.While the Fourth
Quartet (1928) was to follow
barely a year later, its formal precepts could hardly havebeen
more different from the preceding work. Althoughhe had made use of
a five-movement arch structure asfar back as the First Orchestral
Suite (1905), it was onlyin this piece that Bartk fully utilized
its potential formaximum expressive variety within a balanced
andsymmetrical framework.
As in rhythm and harmony, so in tonal orientationdoes the piece
move, as in a palindrome, to the centreand outwards again; though
this will not be readilyperceived in the opening Allegro, whose
vigorouscontrapuntal discourse partly conceals a regular
sonata-form movement, with contrasting main themes, anintensifying
central development and an extended coda.The first scherzo, played
virtually con sordinothroughout, has a restless, spectral air
whichcomplements its ceaseless momentum. The slowmovement is the
epicentre: emerging out of a broodingcello melody, heard against a
static harmonic backdrop,it reaches a peak of fervency before
returning to itspensive origins. The second scherzo, played
pizzicatothroughout, is more overtly characterful than
itspredecessor, an emotional opening-out which ispursued in the
finale. This transforms the firstmovements expressive territory
with appreciablygreater zest, before bringing the work to a
headlong andexhilarating close.
The formal poise thus attained was to be put toproductive use in
such subsequent works as the CantataProfana (1930) and the Second
Piano Concerto (1931).The pressures of performing and
academiccommitments left Bartk little time for composition inthe
three years that followed, and though the FifthQuartet (1934) might
be thought to continue theessential thinking of its predecessor,
its formal aims andexpressive content make it an altogether
differentproposition. At its centre is a scherzo, this time
enclosedby two slow movements, while the unwaveringemphasis on
counterpoint that marks out the previousquartet is here tempered by
a harmonic lucidity and an
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 6
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8.557543-445
Vermeer QuartetShmuel Ashkenasi, Violin Mathias Tacke, Violin
Richard Young, Viola Marc Johnson, Cello
With performances in practically every major city and every
prestigious music festival in North and South America,Europe, the
Far East, and Australia, the Vermeer Quartet has achieved
international stature as one of the worldsfinest classical music
ensembles. Formed in 1969 at Marlboro, the Vermeer makes its
permanent home in Chicago,while serving as resident artists at
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb since 1970, and as Fellows
at the RoyalNorthern College of Music in Manchester in England,
where the quartet has given annual master classes since 1978.Since
1984 the quartet has been the resident quartet for Performing Arts
Chicago. Recordings include the completestring quartets of
Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Bartk, with various other works by
Schubert, Brahms,Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, Schnittke, Verdi,
Haydn, Tchaikovsky, and Dvok. The violinist Shmuel Ashkenasiwas
born in Israel, where he was a student of Ilona Feher. He later
studied with Efrem Zimbalist at the CurtisInstitute in
Philadelphia. He was the winner of the Merriweather Post
Competition, a finalist in the Queen ElisabethCompetition, and
second prize-winner in the Tchaikovsky Competition. He has
performed with many of the worldsleading orchestras in the United
States, Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan, and has appeared in
recital withMurray Perahia and Peter Serkin. The violinist Mathias
Tacke is originally from Bremen. He studied with
ErnstMayer-Schierning in Detmold, with Emanuel Hurwitz and David
Takeno in London, and with Sandor Vegh inCornwall. He won first
prize in the Jugend Musiziert National Competition, and graduated
with honours from theNordwestdeutsche Musikakademie, where he was
later appointed to the faculty. From 1983 to 1992 he was amember of
the Ensemble Modern, one of the most important professional groups
specialising in twentieth centurymusic. Richard Young, who plays
viola in the quartet, studied with Josef Gingold, Aaron Rosand,
WilliamPrimrose, and Zoltn Szkely. At the age of thirteen he was
invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth of Belgium.Since then he has
appeared as a soloist with various orchestras and has given
recitals throughout the United States.A special award winner in the
Rockefeller Foundation American Music Competition, he was a member
of both theNew Hungarian Quartet and the Rogeri Trio. He has taught
at the University of Michigan and the Peoples MusicSchool in
Chicago, and was chairman of the String Department of Oberlin
Conservatory. The cellist Marc Johnsonstudied in Lincoln, Nebraska,
with Carol Work, at the Eastman School of Music with Ronald
Leonard, and atIndiana University with Janos Starker and Josef
Gingold. While still a student, he was the youngest member of
theRochester Philharmonic, and has subsequently performed as a
soloist with that orchestra. In addition to numerousother awards,
he won first prize in the prestigious Washington International
Competition. Before joining theVermeer Quartet he was a member of
the Pittsburgh Symphony.
8.557543-44 4
underlying tonal direction, qualities such as combine tomake it
perhaps the most approachable quartet ofBartks maturity.
This greater directness is immediately evident in theopening
Allegro, its formal divisions audible at firsthearing, and in which
reiterated chords endow the musicwith a more direct tonal
trajectory. The contrast betweenthe vigorous and expressive main
themes is itself morepronounced, with the latters overt lyricism
continued inthe first slow movement. This is an Adagio
whoseethereal beginning evolves into a dialogue of rapttenderness,
only briefly ruffled by the agitated middlesection. Marked Alla
bulgarese, the scherzo has adistinctive gait as well as a robust
humour and, in itstrio, a quixotic alternation of textures. The
Andantedraws on its slow predecessor in a variation of
earlierideas, given focus by the rhythmic devices of walkingmotion
and rapid-fire chords. A long-range developingof material that is
intensified in the finale, whose chargethrough its sonata-form
ground-plan is halted by thedistorted allusion to a popular song,
one which offsetsthe conclusiveness of the works ending to
unsettlingeffect.
Although it saw the emergence of such masterpiecesas the Music
for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936),the Sonata for Two
Pianos and Percussion (1937) and theSecond Violin Concerto (1938),
the second half of the1930s was to be a time of intense
soul-searching forBartk. Increasingly alienated by the
deterioration of theEuropean political landscape in general, and by
theincreasingly fascistic stance of the Hungarian governmentin
particular, he first banned all performances of hismusic in his
native country, before opting for self-imposed exile in the United
States. Understandable, then,that a combined sense of dread and
resignation in the faceof the inevitable, should permeate all
aspects of the SixthQuartet (1939), composed in the months prior to
theoutbreak of World War Two.
For all that it adopts the traditional four movementsand
continues the drive towards a greater tonal andharmonic lucidity of
his final decade, the quartet isamong Bartks most equivocal
statements. The firstthree movements are prefaced by a Mesto theme,
whichachieves fuller scoring and greater pathos at each
return.First, a solo viola presentation leads to a sonatamovement
whose onward progress is questioned andsidestepped at every formal
juncture. Next, a cellorendering with tremolo accompaniment leads
to a marchwhose rhythmic profile is the only stable element in
amovement of bitter irony and, in the central section,wrenching
emotional intensity. Then, a three-partversion leads to a burlesque
which pointedly conflatesthe popular and the grotesque, with the
only solacecoming in a brief trio. Finally, a full quartet
presentationmakes the Mesto theme into the subject of the entire
lastmovement, one which pursues an avowedly melancholicpath before
a conclusion of poised uncertainty.
Even though he was, at length, able, in such worksas the
Concerto for Orchestra (1943), the Solo ViolinSonata (1944) and the
Third Piano Concerto (1945), tosurmount the difficulties posed by
financial hardshipand failing health, Bartk was not to return to
themedium of the string quartet. At his death a ViolaConcerto was
left in semi-drafted form, while theopening bars of a Seventh
Quartet bear tantalizingwitness to the composers continuing
commitment to,and belief in the medium. What might have resulted
isimpossible to guess. Better to focus attention instead onwhat is
left to us, a cycle of quartets whose consistencyof form and
content is strikingly akin to the sets of sixthat Haydn frequently
composed, and a range and depthof expression such as truly embodies
a lifetime ofexperience.
Richard Whitehouse
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 4
-
8.557543-445
Vermeer QuartetShmuel Ashkenasi, Violin Mathias Tacke, Violin
Richard Young, Viola Marc Johnson, Cello
With performances in practically every major city and every
prestigious music festival in North and South America,Europe, the
Far East, and Australia, the Vermeer Quartet has achieved
international stature as one of the worldsfinest classical music
ensembles. Formed in 1969 at Marlboro, the Vermeer makes its
permanent home in Chicago,while serving as resident artists at
Northern Illinois University in DeKalb since 1970, and as Fellows
at the RoyalNorthern College of Music in Manchester in England,
where the quartet has given annual master classes since 1978.Since
1984 the quartet has been the resident quartet for Performing Arts
Chicago. Recordings include the completestring quartets of
Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Bartk, with various other works by
Schubert, Brahms,Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, Schnittke, Verdi,
Haydn, Tchaikovsky, and Dvok. The violinist Shmuel Ashkenasiwas
born in Israel, where he was a student of Ilona Feher. He later
studied with Efrem Zimbalist at the CurtisInstitute in
Philadelphia. He was the winner of the Merriweather Post
Competition, a finalist in the Queen ElisabethCompetition, and
second prize-winner in the Tchaikovsky Competition. He has
performed with many of the worldsleading orchestras in the United
States, Europe, the Soviet Union, and Japan, and has appeared in
recital withMurray Perahia and Peter Serkin. The violinist Mathias
Tacke is originally from Bremen. He studied with
ErnstMayer-Schierning in Detmold, with Emanuel Hurwitz and David
Takeno in London, and with Sandor Vegh inCornwall. He won first
prize in the Jugend Musiziert National Competition, and graduated
with honours from theNordwestdeutsche Musikakademie, where he was
later appointed to the faculty. From 1983 to 1992 he was amember of
the Ensemble Modern, one of the most important professional groups
specialising in twentieth centurymusic. Richard Young, who plays
viola in the quartet, studied with Josef Gingold, Aaron Rosand,
WilliamPrimrose, and Zoltn Szkely. At the age of thirteen he was
invited to perform for Queen Elizabeth of Belgium.Since then he has
appeared as a soloist with various orchestras and has given
recitals throughout the United States.A special award winner in the
Rockefeller Foundation American Music Competition, he was a member
of both theNew Hungarian Quartet and the Rogeri Trio. He has taught
at the University of Michigan and the Peoples MusicSchool in
Chicago, and was chairman of the String Department of Oberlin
Conservatory. The cellist Marc Johnsonstudied in Lincoln, Nebraska,
with Carol Work, at the Eastman School of Music with Ronald
Leonard, and atIndiana University with Janos Starker and Josef
Gingold. While still a student, he was the youngest member of
theRochester Philharmonic, and has subsequently performed as a
soloist with that orchestra. In addition to numerousother awards,
he won first prize in the prestigious Washington International
Competition. Before joining theVermeer Quartet he was a member of
the Pittsburgh Symphony.
8.557543-44 4
underlying tonal direction, qualities such as combine tomake it
perhaps the most approachable quartet ofBartks maturity.
This greater directness is immediately evident in theopening
Allegro, its formal divisions audible at firsthearing, and in which
reiterated chords endow the musicwith a more direct tonal
trajectory. The contrast betweenthe vigorous and expressive main
themes is itself morepronounced, with the latters overt lyricism
continued inthe first slow movement. This is an Adagio
whoseethereal beginning evolves into a dialogue of rapttenderness,
only briefly ruffled by the agitated middlesection. Marked Alla
bulgarese, the scherzo has adistinctive gait as well as a robust
humour and, in itstrio, a quixotic alternation of textures. The
Andantedraws on its slow predecessor in a variation of
earlierideas, given focus by the rhythmic devices of walkingmotion
and rapid-fire chords. A long-range developingof material that is
intensified in the finale, whose chargethrough its sonata-form
ground-plan is halted by thedistorted allusion to a popular song,
one which offsetsthe conclusiveness of the works ending to
unsettlingeffect.
Although it saw the emergence of such masterpiecesas the Music
for Strings, Percussion and Celesta (1936),the Sonata for Two
Pianos and Percussion (1937) and theSecond Violin Concerto (1938),
the second half of the1930s was to be a time of intense
soul-searching forBartk. Increasingly alienated by the
deterioration of theEuropean political landscape in general, and by
theincreasingly fascistic stance of the Hungarian governmentin
particular, he first banned all performances of hismusic in his
native country, before opting for self-imposed exile in the United
States. Understandable, then,that a combined sense of dread and
resignation in the faceof the inevitable, should permeate all
aspects of the SixthQuartet (1939), composed in the months prior to
theoutbreak of World War Two.
For all that it adopts the traditional four movementsand
continues the drive towards a greater tonal andharmonic lucidity of
his final decade, the quartet isamong Bartks most equivocal
statements. The firstthree movements are prefaced by a Mesto theme,
whichachieves fuller scoring and greater pathos at each
return.First, a solo viola presentation leads to a sonatamovement
whose onward progress is questioned andsidestepped at every formal
juncture. Next, a cellorendering with tremolo accompaniment leads
to a marchwhose rhythmic profile is the only stable element in
amovement of bitter irony and, in the central section,wrenching
emotional intensity. Then, a three-partversion leads to a burlesque
which pointedly conflatesthe popular and the grotesque, with the
only solacecoming in a brief trio. Finally, a full quartet
presentationmakes the Mesto theme into the subject of the entire
lastmovement, one which pursues an avowedly melancholicpath before
a conclusion of poised uncertainty.
Even though he was, at length, able, in such worksas the
Concerto for Orchestra (1943), the Solo ViolinSonata (1944) and the
Third Piano Concerto (1945), tosurmount the difficulties posed by
financial hardshipand failing health, Bartk was not to return to
themedium of the string quartet. At his death a ViolaConcerto was
left in semi-drafted form, while theopening bars of a Seventh
Quartet bear tantalizingwitness to the composers continuing
commitment to,and belief in the medium. What might have resulted
isimpossible to guess. Better to focus attention instead onwhat is
left to us, a cycle of quartets whose consistencyof form and
content is strikingly akin to the sets of sixthat Haydn frequently
composed, and a range and depthof expression such as truly embodies
a lifetime ofexperience.
Richard Whitehouse
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 4
-
8.557543-44 6
CD 1 75:49String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 (1908-1909) 29:241 I Lento
attacca 9:082 II Poco a poco accelerando Allegretto 8:263 III
Introduzione Allegro attacca: Allegro vivace 11:50
String Quartet No. 3 (1927) 15:174 Prima parte: Moderato
attacca: 4:545 Seconda parte: Allegro attacca: 5:376
Ricapitulazione della prima parte: Moderato Coda: Allegro molto
4:45
String Quartet No. 5 (1934) 31:097 I Allegro 7:288 II Adagio
molto 6:019 III Scherzo 5:180 IV Andante 5:08! V Finale: Allegro
vivace 7:13
CD 2 78:34String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17 (1915-1917) 26:191 I
Moderato 9:582 II Allegro molto capriccioso 7:373 III Lento
8:43
String Quartet No. 4 (1928) 23:084 I Allegro 6:155 II
Prestissimo, con sordino 3:086 III Non troppo lento 5:127 IV
Allegretto pizzicato 2:498 V Allegro molto 5:45
String Quartet No. 6 (1939) 29:069 I Mesto Pi mosso, pesante
Vivace 7:380 II Mesto Marcia 7:44! III Mesto Burletta 7:12@ IV
Mesto 6:32
8.557543-443
scurrying coda anticipates the angular musicalexpression to
come. The finale returns to the inwardnessof hitherto, its terse
initial motif spawning a freely-evolving theme which together
define the harmonic andmelodic content of the Lento as a whole. The
closingbars are not so much defeatist as fatalistic - as thoughthe
composers solitude had afforded him a measure
ofself-recognition.
The intensity of this piece was maintained in thosethat
followed, above all, the brutal pantomime TheMiraculous Mandarin
(1919) and the two ViolinSonatas (1921 and 1922), in which Bartks
musicapproaches a peak of chromatic intensity. Then, in theunlikely
guise of a Dance Suite (1923) written tocommemorate the founding of
the modern Hungariancapital, he broke through to a harmonically
more clear-cut manner that was to have profound consequences forthe
works to come. Three years of relative silence werebroken by music
written for himself to play, namely theFirst Piano Concerto, the
Piano Sonata, and the Out ofDoors suite (all 1926). Then, in the
Third Quartet(1927), Bartk achieved an integration of folk
idiomswith a Beethovenian contrapuntal resource such he asnot to
surpass.
Although it unfolds as a seamless whole, the quartetcomprises
two main parts which themselves divide intofour sections, the work
thus following a sonata-formlayout in principle as well as in
spirit. The Prima partepresents the principal ideas, respectively
ruminative andmalevolent, in the manner of an exposition, before
anacerbic climax and a modally-inflected codetta. TheSeconda parte
is launched with a pizzicato idea, whichprovides the motivation for
a tumultuous developmentof the material heard thus far: many of the
playingtechniques synonymous with Bartks later quartetwriting are
here used extensively for the first time. At itsapex, the music
spills over into the Recapitulazionedella prima parte, a
transformed and generallyrestrained reprise of the main ideas, with
which thework seems to be heading for a muted close. The Codasteals
in, however, to draw the motivic threads into ataut continuum,
laying bare the musics harmonic and
tonal premises with breathtaking conclusiveness.While the Fourth
Quartet (1928) was to follow
barely a year later, its formal precepts could hardly havebeen
more different from the preceding work. Althoughhe had made use of
a five-movement arch structure asfar back as the First Orchestral
Suite (1905), it was onlyin this piece that Bartk fully utilized
its potential formaximum expressive variety within a balanced
andsymmetrical framework.
As in rhythm and harmony, so in tonal orientationdoes the piece
move, as in a palindrome, to the centreand outwards again; though
this will not be readilyperceived in the opening Allegro, whose
vigorouscontrapuntal discourse partly conceals a regular
sonata-form movement, with contrasting main themes, anintensifying
central development and an extended coda.The first scherzo, played
virtually con sordinothroughout, has a restless, spectral air
whichcomplements its ceaseless momentum. The slowmovement is the
epicentre: emerging out of a broodingcello melody, heard against a
static harmonic backdrop,it reaches a peak of fervency before
returning to itspensive origins. The second scherzo, played
pizzicatothroughout, is more overtly characterful than
itspredecessor, an emotional opening-out which ispursued in the
finale. This transforms the firstmovements expressive territory
with appreciablygreater zest, before bringing the work to a
headlong andexhilarating close.
The formal poise thus attained was to be put toproductive use in
such subsequent works as the CantataProfana (1930) and the Second
Piano Concerto (1931).The pressures of performing and
academiccommitments left Bartk little time for composition inthe
three years that followed, and though the FifthQuartet (1934) might
be thought to continue theessential thinking of its predecessor,
its formal aims andexpressive content make it an altogether
differentproposition. At its centre is a scherzo, this time
enclosedby two slow movements, while the unwaveringemphasis on
counterpoint that marks out the previousquartet is here tempered by
a harmonic lucidity and an
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 6
-
8.557543-447
Also available:
8.554718
8.555329
8.557543-44 2
The string quartets of Bla Bartk occupy a centralposition in the
classical repertoire of the twentiethcentury. Not only are they a
milestone in the evolutionof the quartet literature, but, along
with those by Haydnand Beethoven, they provide an overview of
theircomposers output at all the main junctures of hiscareer. This
might be thought surprising when oneremembers that Bartk was a
pianist by training and,latterly, by profession, though the store
he set by themedium is confirmed by the way in which each of
thequartets exemplifies those facets of his music whichpreoccupied
him prior to, and during the course of itscomposition. It is this,
coupled with the intrinsic qualityof each work, that gives the
cycle its inclusiveness andsignificance in the context of Western
music as a whole.
Although he had written several quartets in hisadolescence,
Bartk was 27 before he embarked on hisfirst acknowledged work in
the medium. While thepieces that precede it, notably the Rhapsody
for Pianoand Orchestra (1904), the Second Orchestral Suite(1907),
the Bagatelles for piano (1908) and the FirstViolin Concerto
(1908), evince a gradually evolvingpersona, only with the First
Quartet (1909) did heachieve a convincing amalgam of main
influences,notably Strauss and Debussy, such as allows his ownvoice
to come through. Moreover, for all that it recallsthese composers
in its harmonic intricacy andexpressive license, the impact of
folk-song, whichBartk had been collecting for barely two years,
isalready apparent in the rhythmic drive and cumulativemomentum
that informs this music.
The three movements proceed without pause, suchthat the second
is in constant acceleration, in contrast tothe uniform tempo of the
first, and with the generallyfast finale itself prefaced by a slow
introduction. Thesighing motif which begins the Lento will permeate
allaspects of the piece: whether the expressive polyphonyto which
it gives rise, or (beginning with reiterated cellochords) the more
melodic dialogue which forms the
central section. The Allegretto that follows is in
constantsearch of a stable tempo, keeping its material in a stateof
flux, though with a repeated-note motif as animportant formal
marker. Its uncertainty is decisivelycountered by an Introduzione
which, by means ofunison gestures and solo recitatives, leads to
the Allegrovivace, dominated by a folk-like theme initiated by
thecello. A more expansive passage divides off the twomain sections
of this finale, which culminates in apungent reprise of the main
theme and a powerful codauniting all of the salient ideas in
affirmative accord.
The years that followed were among the mostdifficult of Bartks
career. With the opera DukeBluebeards Castle (1911) having been
rejected by theBudapest Opera as unperformable, and the
stylisticallyambivalent ballet The Wooden Prince (1916)
remainingunorchestrated for several years, he largely withdrewfrom
active involvement in musical life to concentrateon his folk-song
researches. The length of time that heworked on the Second Quartet
(1915-17) is partlyexplained by this enforced period of isolation,
partly bythe overriding need to fashion a musical language inwhich
the art and folk music aspects of his creativitywere allowed to
find their natural equilibrium. Thesynthesis has been all but made
in the present quartet,which ranks among his most inward and
personalachievements.
There are again three movements, this timefollowing the
slow-fast-slow format which frequentlyfound favour in the twentieth
century. The openingModerato grows from a searching theme on
viola,which, after a modally-inflected idea has providedcontrast,
propels the impassioned central climax. Avaried and intensified
recall of the main material leadsinto the pensively ambivalent
close. If this movementmarks the limit of Bartks late-romantic
leanings, thescherzo that follows clearly points the way forward.
Themotoric rhythms of its main theme and the yearning triosection
breathe the spirit of peasant culture, while the
Bla Bartk (1881-1945)The Six String Quartets
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 2
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BARTKString Quartets
(Complete)Vermeer Quartet
2 CDs8.557543-44 8
Also available:
8.555998
8.557433
557543-44 bk Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 8
-
The string quartets of Bla Bartk occupy a central position in
the classical repertoire of the twentiethcentury. Not only are they
a milestone in the evolution of the quartet literature, but along
with thoseby Haydn and Beethoven they provide an overview of their
composers output at all the mainjunctures of his career. The First
Quartet is a convincing amalgam of influences, notably Strauss
andDebussy, the Second Quartet more introspective, while the Third
and Fourth Quartets contain the mostdifficult music of the six. The
Fifth is the most approachable, while the Sixth is permeated by a
senseof dread and resignation at the approach of World War Two.
These masterpieces truly offer the rangeand depth of a lifetimes
creative experience.
DDD8.557543-44
CMYK
h&
g
2005 N
axos Rights International Ltd.B
ooklet notes in EnglishM
ade in Canada
ww
w.n
axos.co
mBla
BARTK(1881-1945)
The Complete String Quartets
Vermeer QuartetShmuel Ashkenasi, Violin 1 Mathias Tacke, Violin
2
Richard Young, Viola Marc Johnson, CelloRecorded at St John
Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada,
from May 24th to 27th, 2001, February 10th to 12th, 2003, and
February 8th to 11th, 2004Producers: Norbert Kraft and Bonnie
Silver Engineer: Norbert Kraft Editor: Bonnie Silver
Publishers: Universal Edition Booklet Notes: Richard
WhitehouseCover Picture: Summer, 1917-18 by Lyubov Sergeevna Popova
(1889-1924)
(Museum of Art, Tula, Russia / www.bridgeman.co.uk)
Playing Time2:34:23
BAR
TK:String Quartets (Complete)N
AX
OS
BAR
TK:String Quartets (Complete)N
AX
OS
8.557543-44
8.557543-44
CD 1 75:491-3 String Quartet No. 1, Op. 7 (1908-1909) 29:244-6
String Quartet No. 3 (1927) 15:177-! String Quartet No. 5 (1934)
31:09CD 2 78:341-3 String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17 (1915-1917)
26:194-8 String Quartet No. 4 (1928) 23:089-@ String Quartet No. 6
(1939) 29:06
557543-44 rr Bartok US 20/07/2005 01:42pm Page 1
