#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 4

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make it quartet month. This April the challenge is to post classical works that require four musicians. String quartets are the most common grouping of four -- but there are others. 

A piano trio has four players. And many 20th and 21st-Century quartets bring together unusual combinations of instruments. There's a lot to choose from!

Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #ClassicsaDay for April's #ClassicalQuartet.

4/24/23 Joan Tower: In Memory (for string quartet)

Tower composed this quartet in 2002. It was written in memory of friend who died in the September 11th attack.

4/25/23 Johann Baptist Vanhal: Quartet for oboe and strings in F major, Op. 7

Bohemian composer was also an organist, violinist, and cellist. But that didn't prevent him from writing music for other instruments. Like this chamber work for oboe and strings.

4/26/23 Emil von Reznicek: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor

Reznicek was a friend and colleague of Richard Strauss (at least for a while). The first of his six numbered string quartet was written in 1882.

4/27/23 Arthur Foote: Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 23

Foote was a member of the influencial "Boston Six" group of American composers that included George Whitefield Chadwick, John Knowles Paine, Amy Beach, and Horatio Parker. He wrote primarily chamber music, like this 1890 piano quartet.

4/28/23 Charles ives: String Quartet No. 1 "From the Salvation Army"

Ives wrote his first quartet while studying at Yale with Horatio Parker. Its title refers to a revival service that the music depicts.

4/28/23 Joachim Raff: String Quartet No. 8 in C major, Op. 192, No. 3 "Suite in Canon Form"

Raff's final string quartet is significantly different than the previous seven. Rather than use the standard four-movement form, Raff opted for seven short dance movements. Further, each movement uses canonic development.

Next month:

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 3

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make it quartet month. This April the challenge is to post classical works that require four musicians. String quartets are the most common grouping of four -- but there are others. 

A piano trio has four players. And many 20th and 21st-Century quartets bring together unusual combinations of instruments. There's a lot to choose from!

Here are my posts for the third week of #ClassicsaDay for April's #ClassicalQuartet.

04/17/23 Anton Webern: String Quartet (1905)

Webern was in his third year of studies at Vienna University when he composed this single-movement string quartet. According to one source, the paintings of Giovanni Segantini may have inspired Webern's composition of the quartet.

4/18/23 Ernst von Dohnanyi: String Quartet No. 3 in A minor, Op. 33

Hungarian composer von Dohnanyi wrote three string quartets. His final one was completed in 1926. He did not revisit the genre during the remaining 31 years of his life.

4/19/23 Maurice Emmanuel: String Quartet

This French composer had a strong affinity for modal music. His composition teacher, Léo Delibes did not. And eventually, it caused Emmanuel to be expelled from his class. Emmanuel went on to have a successful career as a composer and academic. His own students included Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux.

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4/20/23 Dora Pejačević: Piano Quartet in D minor

Pejačević was active in the first part of the 20th Century and is still considered Croatia's greatest composer. Her catalog has 58 numbered compositions, and many more without opus numbers.

4/21/23 Libby Larsen: "She Wrote" for string quartet

The title is a quote from James Joyce's "Ulysses," describing a restless young woman. The four movements follow the emotional arc of the paragraph.

#ClassicsADay #ClassicalQuartet Week 2

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make it quartet month. This April the challenge is to post classical works that require four musicians. String quartets are the most common grouping of four -- but there are others. 

A piano trio has four players. And many 20th and 21st-Century quartets bring together unusual combinations of instruments. There's a lot to choose from!

Here are my posts for the second week of #ClassicsaDay for April's #ClassicalQuartet.

04/10/23 Englebert Humperdink: String Quartet Op. 164

Today, he's mainly remembered for his opera "Hansel and Gretel." But Humperdinck had quite a lot of music in his catalog. His lone string quartet was written in 1920, the year before he died.

04/11/23 Ethel Smyth: String Quartet in E minor

Smyth only wrote one quartet. She completed it in 1902, and revised it ten years later.

04/12/23 Emilie Mayer: String Quartet in G minor, Op. 14

Meyer wrote seven string quartets throughout her career. Only the one in G minor was published in her lifetime.

04/13/23 Fanny Mendelssohn: String Quartet in E-flat major

Felix's sister wrote her only quartet in 1835. She wasn't entirely happy with it. In a letter to her brother she admitted she felt more comfortable with shorter forms.

04/14/23 Hans Rott: String Quartet in C major

Rott wrote this in 1876, when he was 18. Both Mahler and Bruckner admired his brilliance, and were devastated when he died in 1884, just 26 years old.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 1

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make it quartet month. This April the challenge is to post classical works that require four musicians. String quartets are the most common grouping of four -- but there are others. 

A piano trio has four players. And many 20th and 21st-Century quartets bring together unusual combinations of instruments. There's a lot to choose from!

Here are my posts for the first week of #ClassicsaDay for April's #ClassicalQuartet.

04/03/23 Franz Joseph Haydn: String Quartet Op. 1, No. 1 in B-flat major

Considered the father of the genre, Haydn wrote 68 string quartets. His Op. 1 set of six was published in 1762.

04/04/23 Michael Haydn: String Quartet in A

If Franz Joseph Haydn is the father of the string quartet, does that make his younger brother Michael its uncle? After all, he wrote 19 string quartets himself.

04/05/23 Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 18

Beethoven dedicated his Opus 18 quartets to Haydn, but he was already pushing past the form Haydn established.

04/06/23 Ferdinand Ries: String Quartet in F major, Op. 70, No. 1

Ries was Beethoven's pupil (as well as his personal secretary). Ries wrote 27 quartets, most having some resemblance to the style of his teacher.

04/07/23 Maurice Emmanuel: String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 8

French composer Emmanuel was fond of modes. But his composition teacher, Léo Delibes, wasn't. Pieces like this quartet caused Delibes to expel Emmanuel from his class.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 5

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month's theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further.

A piano trio is made up of four musicians. So is a vocal quartet, a percussion quartet, a brass quartet, and so on. I decided to seek out some of the more unusual quartet compositions. And while I do include some string quartets, they're not written by the usual suspects. 

Here are my #Classicsaday selections for the fifth and final week of #ClassicalQuartet

04/27/20 Elfrida Andree (1841-1929): Piano Quartet in A minor

This Swedish composer and organist studied with Neils Gade. Many of her compositions are keyboard-centric, including this 1870 piano quartet.

04/28/20 Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) Sonata for Four Horns

Hindemith's quartet is a neo-Baroque composition. But while the music looks back to the 1790s, it's also music impossible to play on valveless horns of the period.

04/29/20 Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936): Saxophone Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 109

Glazunov completed this quartet in 1932, one of his last compositions. At the same time, it was one of the earliest saxophone quartets.

04/30/20 Arnold Schoenberg String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 7

Schoenberg asked for help composing this 1897 quartet. He consulted with Alexander Zemlinksy, who showed a draft to Johannes Brahms. Brahms thought it was OK.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 4

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month's theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further.

A piano trio is made up of four musicians. So is a vocal quartet, a percussion quartet, a brass quartet, and so on. I decided to seek out some of the more unusual quartet compositions. And while I do include some string quartets, they're not written by the usual suspects. 

Here are my #Classicsaday selections for the fourth week of #ClassicalQuartet

04/20/20 Doris Pejacevic (1885-1923): Piano Quartet in D minor, Op. 25

The music of this Croatian composer was performed extensively throughout Eastern Europe during her lifetime. This 1908 quartet was written when she was just 23.

04/21/20 Nikolai Tcherepnin (1873-1945): Six Horn Quartets, Opus 35

These quartets date from 1910, while Tcherepnin was conductor of the Mariinsky Theater, and head of the Conservatory at St. Petersburg.

04/22/20 Ulvi Cemal Erkin (1906-1972): String Quartet

Erkin was part of the "Turkish Five," composers who integrated Turkish folk music and modes into traditional Western classical music forms.

04/23/20 Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937): Introduction et Variations for Saxophone Quartet

This French composer/organist/conductor is noted for many things (like conducting the premiere of Stravinsky's Firebird). His saxophone quartet is a repertoire standard.

04/24/20 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767):'Paris' Quartet in E minor, TWV 43:e4

The Paris quartets is a collection of chamber works in two sets. The name was added by the editors of Telemann's catalog in the 20th Century.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 3

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month's theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further.

A piano trio is made up of four musicians. So is a vocal quartet, a percussion quartet, a brass quartet, and so on. I decided to seek out some of the more unusual quartet compositions. And while I do include some string quartets, they're not written by the usual suspects. 

Here are my #Classicsaday selections for the third week of #ClassicalQuartet

04/13/20 Mary Howe (1882-1964): Allegro Inevitable

Howe was one of the many American composers who studied with Nadia Boulanger. One of her interests was incorporating American folk music into her works.

04/14/20 Julius Rontgen (1855-1932): String quartet in A minor

Rontgen was a student of Franz Liszt. He was an accompanist for Pablo Casals. He and his sons also performed together as a piano trio.

04/15/20 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozart Adagio and Allegro for Woodwind Quartet, K. 594

Mozart originally wrote this work for a mechanical clockwork organ. The clock played a piece when it struck the hour. Mozart's work was one of several by other composers that were put in rotation.

04/16/20 Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943); String Quartet No. 1

This work was actually a student piece, written around 1890. Rachmaninoff was greatly under the influence of Tchaikovsky at the time, as you can hear in this work.

04/17/20 Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826): String Quartet No. 1 in D minor

Arriaga was nicknamed "The Spanish Mozart." Like Mozart, he wrote brilliantly and quickly -- and had a short life. His three string quartets were his only works published during his lifetime.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 2

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month's theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further.

A piano trio is made up of four musicians. So is a vocal quartet, a percussion quartet, a brass quartet, and so on. I decided to seek out some of the more unusual quartet compositions. And while I do include some string quartets, they're not written by the usual suspects. 

Here are my #Classicsaday selections for the second week of #ClassicalQuartet

04/06/20 Libby Larson (1950 - ): Four on the Floor

Larson says her 1983 work was inspired by boogie-woogie. The unusual quartet is comprised of violin, cello, double bass, and piano.

04/07/20 Jean Francaix (1812-1997): Woodwind Quartet

This 1933 work is for what has become fairly standard makeup of a woodwind quartet: flute, clarinet, oboe, and bassoon.

04/08/20 Louis Spohr (1784-1869): String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 29, No. 1

Spohr wrote 36 string quartets. This work is No. 7, the first of three quartets in the Op. 29 set.

04/09/20 Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935): Music for Four Stringed Instruments

Loeffler's work is for a standard string quartet, though he chose not to call it that. It was written in Memorium to a casualty of World War I.

04/10/20 John Cage - Quartet

This 1935 work is for percussion quartet. Cage wrote it while studying with Arnold Schoenberg, though it shows none of his influence.

#ClassicsaDay #ClassicalQuartet Week 1

April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make classical quartets this month's theme. One could easily fill up a month of postings with nothing but great string quartets. But I decided to explore further.

A piano trio is made up of four musicians. So is a vocal quartet, a percussion quartet, a brass quartet, and so on. I decided to seek out some of the more unusual quartet compositions. And while I do include some string quartets, they're not written by the usual suspects. 

Here are my #Classicsaday selections for the first week of #ClassicalQuartet

04/01/20 Peter Schickle (1925 - ): Last Tango in Bayreuth

Schickle is best known for his alter ego, PDQ Bach. But even when he composes under his own name, there's still a lot of humor in Schickle's work. His favorite instrument is the bassoon. So what could be better than four of them?

04/02/20 Eugene Bozza (1905-1991): Trois pièces pour une musique de unit

French violinist and composer Bozza was best known for his chamber music. This three-movement work is for a woodwind quartet -- flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon.

04/03/20 Steve Reich (1936 -): Drumming

This work is considered one of the first minimalist masterpieces. It's for four players. But they're not always playing four instruments.