Onslow - String Quartet No. 25 In B-flat Major Opus 50

George Onslow come from a long line of  English politicians, beginning with his Great-Grandfather Arthur Onslow who served as Speaker Of The House Of Commons for many years in the 18th century, while George's Grandfather (also named George) served in Parliament and was the first Earl of Onslow. George's uncle Thomas served in Parliament as did his father Edward.  The Onslow family remains involved in English politics as some hold seats in the House Of Lords.

George's father Edward Onslow quit Parliament after only one term amid a sex scandal that forced him to emigrate to France. While in France Edward married and had four children.  George Onslow was the oldest son and was born in 1784. The family had a good life in France until the French Revolution of 1789 when Thomas Onslow was jailed on account of his nationality and was eventually exiled from France in 1797. George joined his father as they toured Europe to provide young George with an education. They ended up back in London where George continued his to study the piano as well as history, art, horsemanship and other subjects befitting a young gentleman. He also learned to play the cello and spent time with friends playing the quartets of Mozart and Haydn.

Despite his piano studies, he never gave a public recital nor did he consider becoming a composer. It was an overture to a opera of Méhul that  inspired him to try his hand at composition. His first attempt was a set of three string quintets that were published and became popular. Through the encouragement of friends and his publisher, he got serious about composing and took composition lessons from Anton Reicha, French composer and teacher. Although Onslow wrote 4 symphonies and works in other forms, he specialized in chamber works at a time in France where opera was the most popular form of music. He wrote 36 string quartets and 34 string quintets that were highly regarded in his lifetime. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn all placed him at the forefront of instrumental composers, and it was in Germany where his fame was the greatest and where  he was called The French Beethoven.

He had an international career, but remained loyal to France and lived most of his life there. He became a gentleman farmer that owned and ran a castle and was a good businessman in dealing with music publishers. Onslow's works sold very well and he profited by the competition among music publishers to obtain his newest works. For the most part he led a quiet and productive life. He died in 1853.

The String Quartet No. 25 was composed in 1836 and is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro moderato -  The first theme is heard straight away and makes its way to a section that has a few sudden outbursts. The second theme has the cello playing a motive as a violin scampers after it. After a short transition to material related to the first theme the exposition is repeated.  The development transitions into an exploration of the first theme mainly by modulations to keys that are close to the B-flat home key. The recapitulation repeats the first theme with added transitional material so the second theme segues into the home key. A short coda adds a moderate amount of dash until the movement ends quietly.

II. Scherzo: Vivace assai - The scherzo begins with a run that starts on B-flat and ends on a long G-flat, after which the music skips along in the home key with the phrase ending with three B-flat quarter notes one after the other descending in three octaves. The opening phrase is repeated but this time doesn't come to rest on G-flat but continues to scamper until the first section of the scherzo comes to rest on a high F. This first section has 20 measures in it, with the first eight measures making up two phrases. By phrase extension the other twelve measures give a a feeling of inequality to the first section that is reminiscent of Beethoven. The first section is repeated. The second section of the scherzo expands and modulates previously heard material until the opening run is heard and the section ends in the tonic. The second section is also repeated. The trio begins with an introduction, after which the time signature of the music turns from two flats to three as rapid pairs of identical notes are played as an accompaniment while the first violin plays a slightly halting theme. This section is repeated, after which the trio continues and material is expanded. Much of this section is played pianissimo which gives a rather eerie mood to it. After the trio the scherzo and trio are repeated, this time straight through without the repetition of sections. A short coda ends the movement in B-flat major.

III. Andante grazioso -  The slow movement is marked con simplecezza, with simplicity, which suits the gentle tune that is in F major. It proceeds to gracefully unwind at a steady pace until it reaches a minor climax. The accompaniment becomes slightly more complex as the tune continues on its gentle way until it grows more quiet and ends pianissimo in F major.

IV. Finale: Allegro vivace - The finale begins fortissimo with the instruments spitting out a fragment that returns throughout the movement. A second theme theme contrasts, the music bustles its way with the fragment reappearing in different keys and dynamics, but always maintaining a certain harshness, and the movement ends in the home key of B-flat major.

Brahms - Piano Quintet In F Minor Opus 34

Some of the early works of Johannes Brahms are works full of drama contrasted with moments of  great tenderness and beauty. The Piano Quintet In F Minor is one of those works, but at the same time some have called it the first work of his early maturity. The drama and fire are obvious, but what is not so obvious is Brahms inner workings of phrase structure, harmony and what has been called the principle of continuing variation.

Brahms began work on what was to become the Piano Quintet in 1862. He had recently visited Vienna and eventually made it his home. The work was originally written for string quintet; two violins, one viola and two cellos.  Brahms was a great admirer of Schubert and he may have used Schubert's String Quintet as a model for his own.  The following year Brahms revised the work and turned it into a sonata for two pianos. This was not the only one of his early works that went through growing pains, as his first piano concerto began life as a symphony and was also rewritten as a sonata for two pianos.  His great friend Clara Schumann expressed admiration for the two piano version, but suggested that it would benefit by being re-scored for different instruments. Finally in 1864 Brahms rewrote it as for piano and string quartet. Brahms was but 31 years old when the final version of the quintet was written, but the two piano version must have satisfied Brahms as well for that version was also published. The two years the Brahms worked on this piece entailed a struggle over what instrumental forces to use. The final version of the work had very few actual musical changes to it from the two piano version.

The Piano Quintet is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro non troppo - A fragment of what is to become the first theme is stated in unison by the instruments to open the movement. A dramatic section leads to the theme being played out completely and with more force.  The second theme is a lyrical contrast to the first, but there is still a feeling of tension.  There is a third theme that appears towards the end of the exposition that relieves some of the drama of the previous themes. The exposition is repeated. The development section has fragments of the first two themes slowly play off of each other until they slowly build tension that leads to the recapitulation. After the recapitulation, there is a brief calm before the storm of the coda that dramatically ends the movement.

II. Andante, un poco adagio - A Schubertian theme begins the movement. Brahms makes variations on the theme as it plays out. A middle section of gentle music leads to a repeat of the main theme which continues to be developed until the movement gently ends.

III. Scherzo : Allegro - The movement begins with a low C on the cello played pizzicato as a rising melody is played over it. A rhythmic section follows, after which a march-like motive plays. These  three motives make up the scherzo itself. They are repeated and developed until at the end of the scherzo the strings play a searing two sixteenth note fragment that alternates between D-flat and C as the piano plays C major chords. The trio is in C major and is inspired by the march-like motive of the scherzo.  This scherzo is one of the most impassioned movements that Brahms ever wrote. Near the end the strings lend an atmosphere of violence to the scherzo before the sudden resolution of it with the end chord in C major.

IV. Finale: Poco sostenuto - Allegro non troppo - Presto, non troppo - The movement begins with a slow, mysterious introduction that builds in intensity until the movement proper begins with a theme that has the mood of a Hungarian Dance. This theme is varied, which leads to a more lyrical second theme. The next theme is a lively dance. These three themes are repeated and varied as they vie for supremacy throughout the movement. The competition of themes is brought to a sudden halt as a short coda returns the mood to tragic as the work ends.

Haydn - String Quartet In E-flat Major Opus 33, No. 2 ' The Joke '

As any musical form, the string quartet evolved from earlier musical forms. The string quartet's history began in  the Baroque era with the trio sonata, a form that had two soloists accompanied by the continuo which consisted of a keyboard instrument and a bass instrument. Alessandro Scarlatti (father of Domenico Scarlatti) took the form to the next step and added a third soloist and omitted the keyboard, letting the bass string instrument play the bass line by itself. This had already been common in the early 18th century, but Scarlatti was the first known composer that wrote works for the 4-instrument ensemble titled Sonata for four instruments: two violins, viola, and cello without harpsichord.

The early form of the string quartet was taken up by the young Josef Haydn, who at first used the form because his resources were limited. He wrote a few quartets for amateur use, works that were more like a Viennese serenade as they consisted of 5 movements. Haydn neglected the form for quite a few years but in 1769 he resumed writing them and in a matter of a few yeas had written eighteen of them. By now the form had been standardized to include 4 movements. Haydn ended up writing 68 string quartets, and ever since the string quartet has been a test of a composer's skill and command of their art.

Haydn's six quartets of his Opus 33 were written in 1781 and they are sometimes referred to as the 'Russian' quartets because they were dedicated to the Grand Duke of Russia and first played in the Viennese apartment of the Grand Duke's wife. The second quartet of the opus is in E-flat major and has earned the nickname of 'the joke ' for reasons given below. The quartet is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro moderato -  Haydn was very important in the development of sonata form, but his musical instinct didn't follow any kind of a textbook working out of the form. The first movement of this quartet shows Haydn's fondness for creating an entire movement from a musical motive only a few bars long. The main theme is stated immediately. Haydn plays this theme through and instead of a contrasting different theme, he takes the theme and changes it in ways that give the impression of contrast. So instead of two themes in his exposition, there is but one theme and a variant that fulfills the role of a second theme, a technique that has been called thematic elaboration; 

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If done by a master composer such as Haydn, thematic elaboration can give a feeling of unity to a piece of music while also giving a sense of contrast to avoid monotony. The development continues thematic elaboration (including the theme modulating to C minor), the recapitulation is reached after which the movement ends.

II. Scherzo: Allegro -  All six of the opus 33 quartets have the usual minuet movement replaced by a scherzo, a first for Haydn. As with his other quartets, Haydn changes the order of the scherzo; sometimes being the second movement, other times the first. Haydn's scherzo has the same basic form of a minuet with both parts of the scherzo being repeated at the beginning, a trio, and a reprise of the scherzo with no repeat. The nature of this scherzo could be one of the reasons this quartet got the name 'The Joke' for the first section of the scherzo is ten bars long, an odd number that does not break down into two 4-bar phrases. Haydn inserts two extra bars in the middle of the two 4-bar phrases which sound rather odd, especially for the time it was written:

 These two bars, with the first violin playing the slurred eighth notes C-flat and B-flat give an awkward kind of humor to the piece. After the scherzo plays through the first time the trio begins. Haydn has the first violin slide from note to note to good effect that adds to the joke:

III. Largo -  The slow movement song-like theme has the viola and cello play a duet in the beginning, and the violins enter with their own duet. The theme is interrupted by some biting chords about half way through the movement, but the theme returns and is itself an example of thematic elaboration.

IV. Presto - Written in rondo form, this movement has a sprightly theme that is interrupted twice by contrasting material. The coda of the movement is the reason for the quartet's nickname, as Haydn inserts rests in the music at strategic places within the rondo theme, each of which can be taken as the end of the piece. After a grand pause of more than three measures, the first section of the rondo theme is played pianissimo, and the work ends.

Lachner - String Quartet No. 1 In B Minor

In 1823 Franz Lachner won a music competition and was appointed organist in a Vienna church. It was then that he met Franz Schubert. The two became good friends:

"We two, Schubert and I, spent most of our time together sketching new compositions. We were the closest of friends, mornings performing for each other and discussing in depth every imaginable topic with the greatest of candor."

Lachner outlived his friend by 52 years, but Schubert remained a strong influence on him as a composer. Lachner resigned his position as organist in Vienna in 1834  and moved to Munich where he held the position of Conductor of the Royal Bavarian Orchestra as well as the professorship of composition at the Royal Conservatory.

Franz Schubert

Lachner's early string quartets were known by Mendelssohn and Schumann, who gave them high praises.The String Quartet No. 1 was written in the late 1830's and published in 1843. It is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro moderato -  The quartet opens with a melancholy theme. Lachner uses the same theme throughout the movement, but he adds a lyrical quality to it and uses counterpoint to enhance it. This variant of the first theme serves as the contrasting second theme of the movement. After the opening is repeated, the development section has the theme go through key changes and counterpoint is again used to expand the theme. Tension is built towards the end of the development by the violin playing a fragment of the theme over a chugging accompaniment. The recapitulation presents the two versions of the theme, this time with the variant leading to a short coda where the cello and violin alternate with statements until the final chords are heard and the movement slowly dies away.

II. Adagio quasi andante -  This movement begins with the violins and violas playing while the cello is silent. The main theme is traded between violin and viola in an extended section that leads to the music growing lighter in mood as it shifts into the major mode. The main theme returns as does the trading between violin and viola. The major mode brightness is repeated. The movement winds down with a short repeat of the main theme and ends in the major mode.

III. Scherzo - Allegro assai - The cello plays in a stead pulse as the scherzo begins. The music drives its way forward. The middle trio section is a major mode dance. The scherzo repeats and ends with two short, biting phrases.

IV. Finale: Allegro agitato - The urgent main theme is played by the violin, with outbursts by all four instruments. The next theme retains the urgency but changes in mood. The main theme repeats, followed by the second theme. A short development section is followed by a recapitulation of the two themes. A short coda brings this short sonata form finale to a close with two short chords.

Dvořák - String Quartet No. 12 'American'

During Dvořák's tenure as Director of the National Conservatory in New York he spent one summer in 1893 in the small town of Spillville, Iowa. The town had a Czech community and spending the summer there gave him a break from the hustle and bustle of New York, eased his homesickness and gave him time to compose. He wrote three works during that Spillville vacation; String Quintet No. 3, Symphony No. 9, and String Quartet No. 12.

The music of America, especially Negro spirituals and songs, inspired Dvořák to write works that used themes reminiscent of the folk music he heard. Dvořák talked about how American music inspired him in a letter written in 1893:

"As for my new Symphony, the F major String Quartet and the Quintet (composed here in Spillville) – I should never have written these works 'just so' if I hadn't seen America. As to my opinion, I think that the influence of this country (it means the folk songs that are Negro, Indian, Irish, etc.) is to be seen, and that this [the symphony] and all other works written in America differ very much from my earlier works, as much in colour as in character..."

Dvořák was also quoted in the newspaper New York Herald as saying:

 "In the Negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music."

Dvořák didn't use any song directly in these works, but he used the pentatonic scale (represented by the five black keys on the piano) in  the original themes he used. The pentatonic scale is used in many kinds of folk music around the world and Dvořák was familiar with it from his native Czech folk music. His composer's ear picked up on the nuances that made American music unique and he imitated them in his themes.  The quartet is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro ma non troppo - The viola states the first theme over a simple accompaniment. The theme is expanded until there is a transition to the lyrical second theme. The two themes are repeated, and the development section begins with the first theme. The development ends with a short fugal section. The recapitulation repeats the first theme and prepares for the key change given to the second theme. After the second theme is worked through there is a short coda and the movement ends.

II. Lento - The melody that predominates in this movement is, like the two themes of the first movement, is predominantly pentatonic, but it is in the minor mode of D minor.  The sound and style of the theme captures the sound and mood of American Negro or Native American music that many listeners thought Dvořák used an authentic American melody but it is a Dvořák original theme. The theme is developed, and returns in the cello as the other strings accompany it with pizzicato notes alternating with bowed notes. The theme gently winds down and the movement ends with one last sad chord.

Scarlet tanager

III. Molto vivace - Dvořák's F major scherzo is an energetic tune full of jumps and offbeats. Supposedly he heard the birdsong of the scarlet tanager on his walks in the woods around Spillvile and used the song in the scherzo. His treatment of the song can be heard high in the first violin.  The following section which serves as the trio is a variant of the scherzo played in F minor. The scherzo and trio are played through again with slight variations in the trio. The scherzo plays once more, the tempo slackens and the movement ends gently.

IV. Finale: Vivace ma non troppo -  The main theme is an energetic one and is repeated four times with new material sandwiched between the repeats. The main theme appears for the fourth time and a short coda whips the music to a faster pace and the movement ends.

Dvořák's three-year tenure as Director of the National Conservatory in New York City changed him as a composer and  influenced on American composers to rethink their musical models and to change them from a European style to a more idiomatic American style. 

Litolff - Piano Trio In D Minor Opus 47

Henry Litolff made a name for himself during his life as a virtuoso pianist, music publisher, composer and friend to many fellow musicians. He also had quite a reputation as a ladies' man. He was married four times and he seems to have kept on the move for most of his early years, perhaps for good reason. Although born in England, he lived most of his life in Europe. He was a prolific composer, but the majority of his music has suffered from neglect. He was primarily a composer of works for the piano, orchestra and stage, but he did write a few chamber works; three piano trios, a string quartet and a serenade for violin and piano.  He wrote the first piano trio in 1847 when he was in his late twenties.

There have been a few recordings of his Concerto Symphoniques for piano and orchestra, and a few recordings of piano pieces, but the only chamber work available on CD is the Piano Trio In D Minor.  It is in 4 movements:

I. Allegro - The cello plays a plaintive melody to open the work. The violin takes up the melody, and after the piano plays a short lead-in, the actual first theme of  the movement is heard. It is a dramatic theme that Litolff develops until the second theme is heard. The second theme is in contrast to the first as it is more lyric, but it continues a feeling of tension. The first theme returns to round out the exposition. There is a slight pause before the development begins. The first theme is heard in the solo cello, and then the piano takes it up for a short time. Litolff then shifts gears and uses the first theme for a fugue. The second theme appears as an episode in the fugue, and then the second theme gets a full hearing and is developed. The recapitulation has the first theme go through a transition that leads to the repeat of the second theme in D major. The first theme is played in the major, then a short pause before the piano begins the coda and the piece ends with a D major chord, at least in the recording linked at the end of this article. The score itself has this chord as D minor.

II. Andante - The piano presents the theme in F major and the violin and cello join in. The tension and drama of the music slowly increases until the piano plays triplet eighth note chords while the cello expands the theme. The violin joins the cello, and the instruments pass a fragment of the theme back and forth. The piano plays a variant of the theme along with the violin and cello. The piano chords change to a more regular eighth-note pulse, the strings and piano unwind the melody until the movement ends with F major as it had begun. 

III. Scherzo - Litolff starts the scherzo with a bar for solo piano followed by a run for the piano while the strings play a pizzicato note then a wide-spread chord: 

The scherzo is high-energy and scurries onward to a development of the theme, or rather the persistence of the dotted eighth-sixteenth-eighth rhythm. Litolff makes much of this slight motif, the scherzo is repeated, a short coda is added and the movement ends. 

IV. Finale: Presto - The first theme scurries about while the second theme is more lyrical and gentle. The development has the first theme treated contrapuntally. The recapitulation brings back the first theme. The second theme returns. An impassioned coda throws out fragments of the first theme as the tension increases. The key changes to D major and the drama increases as the instruments chromatically descend into a flurry as the tempo increases and the music ends in a glory of D major.  

Shostakovich - String Quartet No. 1 In C Major

When Dmitri Shostakovich's first symphony was performed when he was nineteen, he was heralded as a prime example of Soviet artistry. Famed conductors Bruno Walter and Leopold Stokowski showed interest in the work amnd performed it. Shostakovich's career as a composer was launched.

But before too many years, Shostakovich was officially denounced in "Muddle Instead Of Music", an article that appeared in the official soviet newspaper Pravda in 1936. The article focused on the composer's opera Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk District (written in 1932) and accused the work of being 'formalist, coarse and vulgar'. This was a shock to Shostakovich as the opera had previously been lauded as:

 "the result of the general success of Socialist construction, of the correct policy of the Party...could have been written only by a Soviet composer brought up in the best tradition of Soviet culture."

Times became desperate for Shostakovich as commissions and performances of his works stopped, and his income dropped to less than half of what it had been.Shostakovich was forced to withdraw his 4th Symphony from rehearsal as well. With the writing of his 5th Symphony, subtitled 'An artist's creative response to just criticism', Shostakovich got back into the graces of the powers that were (Stalin), but only for a time. Further denunciations and trials awaited the composer for the rest of his life.

Shostakovich changed as a composer after the first denunciation, at least with his overtly public compositions. He was in his early thirties when he began his first attempt at a string quartet, shortly after he finished his 5th Symphony.  Shostakovich said:

I began to write it without special ideas and feeling, I thought that nothing would come of it. After all, the quartet is one of the most difficult musical genres. I wrote the first page as a sort of original exercise in the quartet form, not thinking about subsequently completing and releasing it. As a rule, I fairly often write things I don’t publish. They are my type of composer’s studies. But then work on the quartet captivated me and I finished it rather quickly. Don’t expect to find special depth in this, my first quartet opus. In mood it is joyful, merry, lyrical. I would call it 'spring-like'.

Indeed the first quartet is of a different style and mood of the 5th symphony and much of Shostakovich's previous works of his early years.  It is neoclassical in style, lyrical, uncomplicated and gives little indication of the mood and style of his later quartets.

Shostakovich continued to write string quartets for the remaining 35 years  of his life, and his 15th quartet was completed only months before his death. Shostakovich used the string quartet form as a haven for his more personal and private compositions. String Quartet No. 1 is in 4 movements:

I. Moderato - A simple melody opens the work, played by the first violin and supported by the other instruments. The second theme is another simple melody accompanied by a sliding figure in the cello. The development section is short and wandering. The return of the first theme in the recapitulation emerges from the wanderings of the development. The second theme returns and the movement winds down and ends quietly.

II. Moderato - The viola presents a folk-influenced theme that goes through seven variations and ends with the theme being played as in the beginning of the movement.

III. Allegro molto - This scherzo cavorts about, the middle trio sings a short song before the scherzo returns for another cavort until the end.

IV. Allegro - In a shortened sonata form this movement is more complex than the others. It has two themes that are rapidly exploited before a short coda ends the work in C major.