Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra in B flat is a work by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg
, freely composed after the Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 7
by George Frideric Handel
.
The work is divided into four movements:
after the accession of the Nazi Party. He first went to Paris
(where he reconverted from Lutheranism
to the Judaism
of his childhood). He spent the summer of 1933 with his wife and infant daughter in the French town of Arcachon, a seaside resort near Bordeaux
, completing the Concerto there before leaving for permanent residence in America in October.
The work was first performed on September 26, 1934 in Prague
with the Kolisch Quartet
as soloists.
Other works for string quartet and orchestra have been written by Mehdi Hosseini
, Morton Feldman
, Louis Spohr
, Benjamin Lees
, Bohuslav Martinů
, Emmanuel Nunes
, and Julián Orbón
, while concertos for string quartet and wind orchestra have been written by Walter Piston
and Ervin Schulhoff.
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, freely composed after the Concerto Grosso Op. 6, No. 7
Handel concerti grossi Op.6
The Handel concerti grossi Op.6 or Twelve Grand Concertos, HWV 319-330, are 12 concerti grossi by George Frideric Handel for a concertino trio of two violins and violoncello and a ripieno four-part string orchestra with harpsichord continuo. First published by subscription in London by John Walsh...
by George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
.
The work is divided into four movements:
- Largo - Allegro
- Largo
- Allegretto grazioso
- HornpipeHornpipeThe term hornpipe refers to any of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and elsewhere from the late 17th century until the present day. It is said that hornpipe as a dance began around the 16th century on English sailing vessels...
Circumstances
The Concerto was written in the summer of 1933. In May of that year Schoenberg had been forced to flee BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
after the accession of the Nazi Party. He first went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(where he reconverted from Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
to the Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
of his childhood). He spent the summer of 1933 with his wife and infant daughter in the French town of Arcachon, a seaside resort near Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, completing the Concerto there before leaving for permanent residence in America in October.
The work was first performed on September 26, 1934 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
with the Kolisch Quartet
Kolisch Quartet
The Kolisch Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Vienna, originally as the New Vienna String Quartet for the performance of Schoenberg's works, and settling to the form in which it was later known. It had a worldwide reputation and made several recordings...
as soloists.
The music
Schoenberg wrote of the work: "I was mainly intent on removing the defects of the Handelian style. Just as Mozart did with Handel’s Messiah, I have had to get rid of whole handfuls of rosalias and sequences, replacing them with real substance. I also did my best to deal with the other main defect of the Handelian style, which is that the theme is always best when it first appears and grows steadily more insignificant and trivial in the course of the piece."Other works for string quartet and orchestra have been written by Mehdi Hosseini
Mehdi Hosseini
Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Bami is a contemporary Persian composer and Musicologist.-Biography:...
, Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman
Morton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
, Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
, Benjamin Lees
Benjamin Lees
Benjamin Lees was a contemporary U.S. composer of Art music, born in Harbin, China, raised in San Francisco and lived in Palm Springs, California.-Early life:...
, Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
, Emmanuel Nunes
Emmanuel Nunes
-Biography:Nunes was born in Lisbon, where he studied composition, first from 1959 to 1963 at the Academia de Amadores de Música with Francine Benoit, and then with Fernando Lopes Graça at the University . He then attended courses at the Darmstädter Ferienkurse , and in 1964 moved to Paris...
, and Julián Orbón
Julián Orbón
Julián Orbón was a Spanish composer. He lived in Cuba from 1940 to 1960, moving to Mexico...
, while concertos for string quartet and wind orchestra have been written by Walter Piston
Walter Piston
Walter Hamor Piston Jr., , was an American composer of classical music, music theorist and professor of music at Harvard University whose students included Leroy Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, and Elliott Carter....
and Ervin Schulhoff.
Sources
- Program notes by Robert CraftRobert CraftRobert Lawson Craft is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.-Life:...
for the recording (Naxos RecordsNaxos RecordsNaxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
8.557520) of Schoenberg's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra in B-flat major performed by the Fred SherryFred SherryFred Sherry is an American cello virtuoso who is particularly admired for his work as a chamber musician and concert soloist. He studied with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School before winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1968. In 1971 he co-founded the Speculum Musicae...
Quartet with the Twentieth Century Classics Ensemble under the baton of Robert Craft.
- Center in Vienna devoted to Arnold Schoenberg