blog/2021-10-26-string-quartet.md

---
layout: post
title:  "The String Quartet"
category: [Classical Ramblings]
date:   2021-10-26 23:15:00 +0200
---
Following the great sweep of symphonic pieces I have heard thanks to the Philharmonic's season opening, I find myself straying back to one of my favourites subgenres of classical music - the string quartet. A successful spin of the great classic tradition, I feel the string quartet embodies the best classical has to offer in a unique, heartfelt form.

I find string quartets fascinating because, to me, they represent about as close as you can get to mainstream music from the classical realm. I like to think of quartets (and their cousins, the quintets and sextets) not unlike a conventional band - namely a few players with their instruments playing a smaller scale of music. 
Coming from mainstream music, you can easily dismiss the difference to classical sound by pointing out something like the orchestra ('Well, we're not gonna sound like *that* - there's a whole bunch of players!') or the unique instruments ('no one *here* rocks a tuba!') and of course the age and origin of the pieces. 
However, if you're *really* stretching, you might argue that if you think of a contra bass or a cello as a big, twiddly bass guitar, you're *almost* there - and **now** the difference in what you're hearing is much more likely to stem from the music itself.

But what *are* you hearing?


The string formations restrict themselves to a single subset of classical sound - the strings - and that is it. This stands in stark contrast to both the back-and-forth of strings, wind and brass often heard in symphonic works, and to the virtuousic, often brooding nature of solo piano works. There's a certain balance that must be kept, and there's only one type of sound to keep it with.

As a result, the quartets are considered by many to be a prestigious, high form of art - and composers tended to view them as a great challenge and test of skill. These pieces thus tend to be deeply passionate and expressive. 

A side effect of the 'single sound' effect is that string quartets/quintets/sextets are often *very* harsh on the ear for those who are not familiar with them (and sometimes, to those who ***are*** familiar with them - Shostakovitch's and Bartok's quartets are prime example) - they screech, squeal and creak, unable to be disguised in the large formation of full-blown orchestras nor in the elegance of the grand acoustic piano - the sound is very raw and physical.

Once you surmount that initial repulsion, however, there's something really special to be heard.


# The Strings Compared to the Orchestra

Dvorak's most-famous quartet is the *very* well known (for good reason!) quartet #12 - monikered as the American quartet. He composed it while in the United States, and I would wager even the unsuspecting listener could clearly conjure out the States of that time while listening to it - think rustic, wide open spaces, a new and optimistic world, with smidgens of brilliant Native American melodies.


The case of the 12th quartet and the 9th symphony is a great example of how this form differs from the orchestral genre.

Dvorak's Ninth symphony - 'From The New World' - was written around a similar time and around a similar theme as the 'American' quartet. Both pieces attempt to convey a similar feeling, albeit from different directions - the quartet looks inward to the new world from an European point of view, while the symphony looks back home to Europe (' *from the new world* '). The symphony is certainly far richer - rife with deep nostalgia, great triumph and a fragile, perhaps menacing hope of new start. It is a grand story of the whole process of going away and looking back, told with intense emotion - strings and brass convey the horns of trains, menacing looming bass and great heights of joy and victory.

The quartet is much more intimate - it feels much as though you're overlooking great plains and rolling hills in the rising sun. Rather than exploding with sudden intensity as the symphony does, the mood in the quartet rises and falls much more gradually. The focus shifts from the great complex of the story to something much closer - as if the symphony speaks for the crowd, but the quartet speaks just to you. The second movement in particular conveys this wonderfully - the playing is soft and gentle, plucking and the heartstrings, while also being very brittle - to me, it feels as if a swift gust of wind could blow the tender moment away, gone in the breeze. The orchestra's sudden crescendos have no such fears, and no such softness.

Despite being penned by the same composer in the same mindset, these pieces are incredibly different.


# The Strings Between Composers

Another feature of the quartet I really enjoy is how it highlights the differences between composers, periods and themes in classical music. 

Symphonies greatly vary in instrumentation and orchestration, chamber music can mix and match between a pool of instruments, and even pianos differ between the eras - but the string quartet is almost always the same, as is tradition - two violins, a viola and a cello.

You would be excused for thinking this would make for a much less vibrant type of music - but that notion will quickly be dispelled. Under the guidance of different composers, quartets vary wildly in thought, mood and sound. 

A cornerstone of the string quartet repertoire are no other than Beethoven's, who brought them (then a relatively new form) to new heights. One of the quartets I've been listening to lately is his 14th, considered by many the very best he composed. It begins with a profound, melancholy fugue which stirs the very soul - the strings in perfect balance, never overpowering, overreaching or exaggerating - the music truly does stand on its' own. The mood gently flows and varies between a soft dance, a harsher, determined march and a great many lyrical phrases. This quartet is a beautiful, haunting piece.

A great admirer of Beethoven was Johannes Brahms, who had also ventured out to write a string quartet. Brahms' string quartet was the very first piece by him I'd heard, and it was the catalyst for me to dive deeper into his works - now one of my favorite composers. Brahms' string quartet is utterly different from Beethoven's - while the 14th's mood is melancholy, brooding and thoughtful, listening to Brahms' quartet feels to me as if you're sitting and considering your feelings carefully, with great restraint. The classical minimalism is still there - the strings are used carefully and sparingly - but there is also a strong vein of romanticism. Brahms' quartet meanders between the mellow play of the instruments to sudden bursts of deep emotion - the strings suddenly play all together, rise and fall dramatically, *just* touching on dissonance but never quite there. It is an amazing piece - managing both the strictness and precision of the classical aesthetic and the deep romanticism apparent in Brahms' works. It is a permanent favourite in my playlist. 

And Much like Brahms admired Beethoven, a great admirer of Brahms was Schoenberg, who stood in great contrast of Brahms and his style. With this admiration in mind (Schoenberg also orchestrated some of Brahms' works himself), he had also set out to write string quartets. Admittedly, I have yet to hear all of them, and only really sank into the first - Schoenberg is an acquired taste. That quartet however, despite being one of his earlier pieces, could not be more different than Brahms' or Beethoven's entries - is it dissonant, ominous and much more frantic. Phrases within it are much more chaotic, and much more potent - Schoenberg is willing to go farther and abandon constrains to say what he has to say. I've had trouble with this piece until it suddenly *clicked* - and now I really enjoy listening to it.

Three composers, all within the same tradition, produced radically different works with the very same instruments and under the very same principals - a brilliant example of the variety in classical music.

# Further Listening
My 'crazes' of specific genres, eras, or composers usually last about a week, but this time around the quartets held out much longer - it really is an incredibly rich genre. I've listened to many pieces aside those mentioned above, and have targeted others for listening in the future.

## Great Quartets and Quartetiers

- **Mozart** wrote many string quartets, likely the first to do so after Haydn, the father of the genre. His 15th quartet  (in D minor, K.421) is a mysterious, elegant piece I love listening to, as well as his 19th ("Dissonant" in C, K.465) which I feel really does not justify its' namesake. From what I can tell regarding Mozart, it's either due to perfectionism or deep cynicism.

- **Prokofiev** wrote two string quartets (as far as I'm aware of), the first of which (Op.50 in B minor) is a frenzied dance piece which is very bold yet upbeat. It is a breath of fresh air from the usual heaviness of many quartets.

- Speaking of heaviness, **Sibelius** wrote one string quartet and nailed it right off the bat. 'Voces Intimae' (Op.56 in D minor) is a hauntingly sad piece and lives up to its' namesake - a very touching work.

- **Smetana** was not really on my radar prior to this session, yet his first quartet , "From My Life" (Op.116 in E minor) caught my ear instantly - it feels as if you're sitting with him and listening to his life through his music. It is an amazingly personal work, beautifully expressed - the string absolutely sing! 

- **Schubert** is also a very accomplished quartetier, having composed well over a dozen - the most famous of which is 'Death and the Maiden' (D.810 in D minor), which is a colourful, somber narrative piece which packs quite a punch. Schubert, however, is primarily the 'King of Song', and other quartets I listened to (the 10th, D.87 in E flat major and the 8th, D.112 in B-flat major) uphold this reputation - they are very lyrical and soft, and overall really pleasant to listen to. 

- **Mendelssohn** is one of my favourite quartetiers as well - he gets it *just* right. There's enough going on to make is interesting, but not too much as to become overwhelming - it all has a nice balance to it. If anyone had managed to hide the screeching and squeaking of the strings - that is Mendelssohn.
Do not let my mellow description fool you, however - his quartets are powerful, emotional works. The 4th (Op.44 No.2 in E minor) portraits a deep, subdued sadness on the first movement and a cheery atmosphere with ominous undertones in the second, and the 6th (Op. 80 in F minor) portraits the grief of losing his sister, Fanny, in a very immediate, raw way.

- **Tchaikovsky** wrote a string quartet (Op.11 in D major) in peak Romantic fashion, and it is absolutely great. The second movement is my favorite. It is mellow and sweet, but has some yearning, divine undertone - it is a very potent piece.

- **Borodin** wrote a Romantic (and also literally 'romantic') string quartet in D major, and it has got to be the sweetest, most tender piece of music I'd ever heard. He wrote it as his 20th anniversary gift to his wife, and it depicts the story of them falling in love - he is the cello and she is the viola!.
I am a great skepticist in the power of love and such, but if anything could convince me - this quartet would be it.


- **Debussy** and **Ravel** both wrote string quartets (Debussy's is Op.10 in G minor, Ravel's is M.35 in F major) in the height of French impressionism - it feels as if you're listening to a painting (in a good way). Ravel's was one of the first pieces I'd ever heard and it absolutely shattered my perception of classical music - I could barely understand what I was listening to! both are a really fun listen.

## To Be Heard
There is a great deal of string quartets which are quite famous that I have yet to hear:
- Beethoven's works are said to be the most important body of works in the quartet realm - the middle and late quartets in particular.
- Haydn, the father of the string quartets, has written. Lots. of them.
- Mozart was the first to pick it up after Haydn, and dedicated some to Haydn because they were bros. How nice!
- I was really surprised to hear Shostakovitch has written 15(!) string quartets. I have heard the 8th some time ago - it is a seriously tense, expressive work.
- Bela Bartok has brought his unique soundscape to no less than six quartets as well - some of which I have heard but have yet to digest.
- Schoenberg's quartets are said to grow increasingly bold - since the first is pretty bold already by my book I'll have to look into it...
- Dvorak, the king of strings, has no less than 16 quartets - at a time they were very out of fashion. The 12th was not a one hit wonder! I love the 13th as well.