Presents
Arthur Foote
String Quartet No.3 in D Major, Op.70
"Foote’s third and last string quartet dates from 1911. In this work, Foote shows that he had remained au current with the latest trends coming out of Europe. His melodic language has moved far away from Schumann or Mendelssohn and even beyond that of Brahms and Dvorak. This can be heard at once in the tonality of the main theme to the opening Allegro. It shows the influence of the French impressionists as well as the post-romantics. In the excellent Scherzo, we have classical structure with updated tonality. The following Andante espressivo is a tribute to Brahms but again Foote goes beyond that master. The finale, Andante espressivo—Allegro non troppo marcato, features a powerful but melancholy introduction to the restless and faster main section. This is without doubt an early 20th century masterpiece, as good as anything being written at the time. American Quartets owe it to their audiences to bring this work to the concert hall. When one looks at how Foote evolved and assimilated new developments throughout his life and contrasts this to a relatively major composer like Max Bruch (1838-1920), who began with Mendelssohn as his model and barely went beyond him, it becomes obvious that Foote does not belong in the back ranks."---The Chamber Music Journal
Arthur Foote (1853-1937) certainly was the equal of nearly any of his European contemporaries, but the fact that he was an American, at a time when American composers were not generally taken seriously, was without doubt an insurmountable obstacle to his achieving the reputation he deserved. Foote was born in Salem, Massachusetts and was the first important American composer trained entirely in America. His main teacher was John Knowles Paine, from whom Foote gained an admiration for and was primarily influenced by the leading Central European Romantic composers of the day, such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvorak and Brahms.
This is a first rate work which will appeal to professionals and amateurs alike.
Parts $24.95
Parts & Score: $31.95
