Presents
Jan Levoslav Bella
String Quartet No.2 in e minor
Jan Levoslav Bella (1843-1936), for the first 76 years of his life was an Austrian, he spent his last 17 as a Czechoslovak, and today, he is posthumously a proud son of the Slovak Republic. He was born in the small town of Liptovsky St. Mikulas in what was then the Habsburg Empire. He studied both music and theology locally and was ordained as a priest in 1866. He then traveled widely in Germany where he was influenced by the music of Schumann and Liszt. In 1881, he left the priesthood and married, taking a position as City Music Director (Stadtskapellmeister) in Hermannstadt (now Sibiu, Romania), a town with a sizeable German population in what was then part of the Hapsburg Empire or Austria-Hungary. He held this position until he retired in 1921.
Although, he is virtually unknown today, he was well-known and on friendly terms with many prominent musicians such as Richard Strauss, Liszt, Brahms, and Ernst von Dohnanyi, whose works he championed and performed. Though the bulk of his compositions consist of choral music, he did not ignore chamber music, writing four string quartets, two of which were often performed by well-known ensembles, and also a viola quintet.
It can be said that Bella was attracted to the German neo-romantic school rather than the nationalism and dramatic naturalism of Smetana and Dvorak. His chamber music often shows the influence of Liszt. Discussing Bella's string quartets, the editor of The Chamber Music Journal has written:
"These works are very strong, engaging chamber music. Bella knows how to write effectively for strings and each voice is given excellent opportunities. These pieces appear to be within the realm of experienced amateur players."
String Quartet No.2 dates from 1871 and, for the time, is really quite forward looking tonally, with many very original ideas. The opening Allegro risoluto, as the movement suggests begins quite resolutely with a thrusting theme containing some very intriguing chromatic tonalities. The second theme is gentler and more lyrical but closely related to the first. The main theme of the second movement, a big Adagio, is a deeply felt, religious melody. The development section features some very original and exotic-sounding episodes. Even more exotic and original is the main theme to the Allegro scherzando which comes next. This is followed up by a wonderful Hungarian folk-dance. The finale begins with a highly emotive and charged Largo con moto-Allegro maestoso. It, too, has an urgent, Hungarian sounding melody for its main theme. Slowly, Bella masterfully builds both tension and momentum as the tempo increases.
Here is a very original-sounding quartet that qualifies as a masterpiece. Sadly, it has been unavailable for more than a century. Our all new performance edition has been carefully edited by Skyler Silvertrust, who corrected many of the errors which appeared in the original edition. We hope that professionals and amateurs alike will help to revive this fine work.
Parts: $29.95
Score & Parts: $36.95
