Presents
Bernhard Crusell
Quartet in D Major for Flute & Strings, Op.8
Almost all of Bernhard Crussel's compositions include the clarinet. His Quartet for Flute and Strings, Op.8 is an arrangement made by him of his third Clarinet Quartet, Op.7, apparently at the request of the dedicatee Conte Gustave de Loewenhielm, an important French diplomat. It dates from 1823. The work was premiered to acclaim and was performed quite frequently throughout the 19th century. As might be expected, the writing is more advanced coming 20 years after the Second Quartet and can definitely be placed in the early Romantic era. While the flute is still primus inter pares, the strings are given a greater role than in the first two quartets. The outer movements have a military flavor and are full of excitement. The slow movement is elaborate and worked out in detail.
Bernhard Crusell (1775-1838) was born in town of Nystad (today's Uusikaupunki) founded by the Swedish king Gustav II Adolf on the Finnish coast. Despite his talent, his parents discouraged his interest in music, although he managed to teach himself to play the clarinet by ear. At age 13, he was finally allowed to take lessons from a military band officer in Helsinki. Soon after, he moved to Stockholm and established himself as a soloist, while serving as First Clarinet in the Royal Swedish Court Orchestra). By happy coincidence, the conductor was the German composer Abbé Vogler from whom Crusell started composition lessons, later studying in Berlin and with Gossec in Paris.
The quartet is every bit as effective for flute and strings as it is for clarinet and string. It makes an excellent program choice
Parts: $24.95
