Presents
Franz Schmidt
String Quartet No.2 in G Major
Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) was born in the Austrian city of Pressburg (now Bratislava) and began his musical training there. Subsequently, in Vienna, he studied cello with Franz Hellmesberger and piano with Theodor Leschetizky. At the Vienna Conservatory, his composition teachers were Robert Fuchs and Anton Bruckner. Schmidt served as a cellist in the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra (1896-1911) and played under Mahler. From the First World War until his retirement, he held many important teaching posts, eventurally serving as the director of theVienna Staatsakademie as well as Hochschule für Musik. Schmidt's roots are to be found in the Viennese Romanticism of his master Bruckner. Although not a prolific composer, he is nonetheless considered the last of the great romantic symphonists. His four chamber music works—2 string quartets, a piano quintet and a quintet for piano, clarinet and string trio--are among his most important.
String Quartet No.2 in G Major was composed four years after his first, dating from 1929. It was dedicated to Arnold Rosé, concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic and leader of the famous string quartet bearing his name. The first movement, Molto tranquillo, is characterized by its chromaticism, remaining tonal, harmonically one hears echoes of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. The calm, soft melodies are accompanied by great independence of the individual voices, created by unstable harmonies and insistent rhythms. Next comes a powerful Adagio which brings forth a sense of yearning. Later there is a rustic theme in the lower voices which sounds rather like a funeral march. The third movement is a lopsided Scherzo with two trios. The cello part stands out by virtue of its highly unusual rhythm. The finale, Allegro, starts off in a kind of genial neo-baroque manner, almost recalling part of the Scherzo. But underneath, a sense of unease persists.
Long unavailable, this is a very interesting post Romantic era work which deserves concert performance.
Parts: $24.95
