Bedřich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana ( , ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival." He has been regarded i ...
's String Quartet No. 2 in
D minor is a chamber composition for
string quartet. It is Smetana's last quartet, written between 1882 and 1883.
Background
In June 1882, after composing the monumental cycle ''
Má vlast
''Má vlast'' (), also known as ''My Fatherland'', is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. The six pieces, conceived as individual works, are often presented and recorded as a single ...
'', the operas ''
Tajemství'' (''The Secret''), ''
Čertova stěna'' (''The Devil's Wall'') and other works, Smetana began thinking about the creation of his second string quartet. A month later, he finished the first movement. In a letter to his friend Josef Srba, the deaf and dejected composer presents the difficulties with the work, his misgivings and fears. He continued work very slowly, and the whole composition was not finished until 12 March 1883. Several minor changes were made after the work was completed. Smetana attended the first non-public performance in the spring (April?) of 1883. The first public performance took place on 3 January 1884, at the Konvikt Hall in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
, performed by Ferdinand Lachner, Julius Raušer, Josef Krehan and Alois Neruda.
The quartet was published posthumously, in 1889.
Structure
The composition consists of four movements:
*I.
''Allegro''
*II. ''Allegro moderato''
*III. ''Allegro non più moderato, ma agitato e con fuoco''
*IV.
''Presto''
Smetana said that the second quartet takes up from where the first finished: ''"...after the catastrophe, it represents the turbulence of music in a person who had lost his hearing"''. The musical construction and language are entirely new and unusual.
[Score, P. VIII] At first, the composition was received by listeners and critics with hesitation, even with objections. However, thanks to many successful interpretations (by, for example, the
Czech Quartet, the
Smetana Quartet The Smetana Quartet ( cs, Smetanovo kvarteto) was a Czech string quartet that was in existence from 1945 to 1989.
Personnel
1st violin
* Václav Neumann (1920-1995), from 1943 to 1945
* Jaroslav Rybenský, from 1945 to 1947
* Jiří Novák (192 ...
, and the
Janáček Quartet
The Janáček Quartet ( cs, Janáčkovo kvarteto) is a Czech string quartet musical ensemble founded in 1947 which is still currently active.
Origins and activities
The Janáček Quartet was formed in 1947 by students of Váša Černý at the C ...
), the quartet is now highly regarded within Czech music history and culture.
Footnotes
References
* Bedřich Smetana: ''Quartetto II. Re minore. Score.'' Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1991. H 5550/7677.
External links
*
Chamber music by Bedřich Smetana
Smetana
Smetana
Compositions in D minor
{{chamber-composition-stub