Presents
Joseph Eybler
String Quartet No.2 in c minor, Op.1 No.2, HV 191-New Edition
In a letter of recommendation for his good friend and student, Joseph Eybler (1765-1846), Mozart wrote:
“I the undersigned hereby testify that I have found the bearer, Mr. Joseph Eybler, a worthy pupil of his famous master Albrechtsberger, a thorough composer, equally skilled in chamber and church styles, very experienced in compositional technique, as well as an excellent organ and piano player—-in short a young musician such as regrettably has few peers.”
And Eybler's famous teacher Albrechtsberger wrote: "After Mozart, Eybler is the greatest musical genius to be found in Vienna." The musical talent which so impressed Mozart and Albrechtsberger is on display in Eybler’s String Quartet No.2, the second of a set of three, completed in 1787. The influence of Haydn's Op.33 string quartets, which had just been completed, can be heard, but Eybler also speaks with his own voice. And what is also noteworthy is that the lower voices are treated far more equally than one finds in Haydn from the same period.
String Quartet No.2 opens with a brooding, powerful Allegro. The second movement, Adagio non molto, is played muted and relieves the tremendous intensity of the first movement. But the Menuetto which comes next is a thrusting affair which, with its strong imitative two part writing, anticipates Haydn's Witch,s Minuet of his Op.76 No.2. The quartet closes with a highly dramatic and effective Allegro.
Here is a work with many original touches, which not only will interest amateurs, but is also strong enough to be programmed in concert in lieu of a Haydn from the same period. Our new edition is based on the 1794 original by Johann Traeg.
Parts: $24.95
Parts & Score: $31.95
