The
life of the oldest, earliest composer on this CD may be briefly summarized as
decades of obscurity in a backwater of the Austro-Hungarian Empire followed by
a dramatic reversal toward fame and fortune in a newly-established independent
nation. Born in a remote Moravian village in 1854, Leoš Janáček was
trained as both a musician and a teacher, and spent most of his first 60 years
- more than a lifetime, for some people - in the provincial capital of Brno,
where he was an organist, choir director, teacher, and folk-music researcher as
well as composer. His principal interest was in opera, but he also wrote
symphonic and chamber works, plus a great many choral pieces. His operatic
efforts were little appreciated. His life was one of continuity, routine, duty,
frustration, and surely more than a little boredom. And then, in 1916, in the
midst of a world war, the Prague National Opera agreed to produce his opera Jenufa;
this was the beginning of his national and international renown, and of his
renewed zest for life and art. This "eternally young old man from Brno" (as one
biographer put it) wrote, in his sixties and seventies, four more major operas
(Katya Kabanova, The Makropoulos Affair, The Cunning Little Vixen, and From the
House of the Dead), plus orchestral works, two string quartets, and the Glagolitic
Mass.
The
inspiration for this outburst of creativity came from more than his new-found
fame; it was spurred greatly by his love for a woman 38 years his junior.
Kamila Stösslová, the great love of his life, was the wife of a Bohemian
merchant. She never left her husband; Janáček never left his wife. Their
affair was apparently conducted largely through correspondence, but its
emotional intensity is witnessed by many of the composer's late works, the
string quartets in particular. The inspiration of this love was so great that
in the last year of his life, Janáček could declare: "Life is young! It's
spring! I am not afraid to live, to open my eyes, for life is beautiful."
Janáček's
style fits into no special school or trend; it remains uniquely his own, a
blend inspired by many influences: his study of Moravian folk melodies and
speech patterns; his interest in other Eastern European cultural heritages,
especially those of Russia; and the confluence of Romantic and modernist trends
that characterized the early 20th century. The sound world of his second
quartet is sharply cut off from its companions on this CD. Hindemith and
Crawford Seeger used the ancient genre of the string quartet to speak new
musical languages. Janáček, despite the originality of his style, was rooted in
the traditions of late Romanticism, and the lushness of his themes and their
harmonization recall the larger-scale symphonic works of Mahler and Richard
Strauss - neither of them any kind of specialist in chamber music, but composers
who spoke with a personal voice in rich harmonies that express very private,
very inward emotions in an outwardly expansive way that seeks the universal. A
younger Janáček contemporary, Alban Berg, though part of the atonal
Schoenbergian school, used chamber music in much the same way: to express deep,
often secret, feelings.
Janáček's
first string quartet, from 1923, was subtitled "Kreutzer Sonata": not a
reference to Beethoven's work with this subtitle, but to a short story by
Russia's Leo Tolstoy, partly inspired by Beethoven's music, relating the tale
of a disastrous marriage. The second quartet, dating from 1928, was originally
subtitled "Love Letters," but the composer pulled back from this too-revealing
appellation in favor of "Intimate Letters." It is a work directly addressed to
Kamila, reflecting "the anguish that I feel about you" (as he wrote to her).
The whole piece is one long instrumental love song. Its frequent shifts of mood
reflect the often-sudden changes of feeling and attitude that are experienced
in the course of a love affair. Even more evocative of an intimate relationship
are the almost constant shifts of tempo, sometimes covering just a few measures
at a time before another change of pace ensues. These tempo changes reflect the
vicissitudes of a loving but risky relationship: advance and retreat, eagerness
and regret.
In
one of his many letters to his love, Janáček detailed specific themes for each
of the quartet's four movements: their first meeting, a summer sojourn at a
spa, a vision "resembling your image," and finally, "a fear for you . . . that
eventually sounds not as fear, but as longing and fulfillment."
A
Baroque predecessor of our modern viola is the even more mellow-toned viola
d'amore, or Love Viola; Janáček originally thought of employing this archaic
instrument, but he Janáček's first string quartet, from 1923, was subtitled
"Kreutzer Sonata": not a reference to Beethoven's work with this subtitle, but
to a short story by Russia's Leo Tolstoy, partly inspired by Beethoven's music,
relating the tale of a disastrous marriage. The second quartet, dating from
1928, was originally subtitled "Love Letters," but the composer pulled back
from this too-revealing appellation in favor of "Intimate Letters." It is a
work directly addressed to Kamila, reflecting "the anguish that I feel about
you" (as he wrote to her). The whole piece is one long instrumental love song.
Its frequent shifts of mood reflect the often-sudden changes of feeling and
attitude that are experienced in the course of a love affair. Even more
evocative of an intimate relationship are the almost constant shifts of tempo,
sometimes covering just a few measures at a time before another change of pace
ensues. These tempo changes reflect the vicissitudes of a loving but risky
relationship: advance and retreat, eagerness and regret.
In
one of his many letters to his love, Janáček detailed specific themes for each
of the quartet's four movements: their first meeting, a summer sojourn at a
spa, a vision "resembling your image," and finally, "a fear for you . . . that
eventually sounds not as fear, but as longing and fulfillment."
A
Baroque predecessor of our modern viola is the even more mellow-toned viola
d'amore, or Love Viola; Janáček originally thought of employing this archaic
instrument, but he eventually decided against it. He asks the modern viola
player to play "sul ponticello," near the instrument's bridge, on numerous
occasions; this adds an astringency to the sound that heightens the tension of
the emotions being expressed.
The
entire quartet is dominated and informed by the motto theme heard at the very
beginning. It returns in many permutated forms. It is treated in rondo fashion
in the opening movement, which begins at a moderate Andante pace that picks up
into a more ardent Allegro. The heartfelt second movement begins at an Adagio
pace, very slow, but is interspersed with agitated Vivace passages; here the
motto becomes the basis for a set of free variations. The third and fourth
movements restate the motto in a number of combinations and variants; the ear
is struck once again by the constant variations of tempo. Moderato becomes
Adagio becomes Allegro in the third movement, holding the traditional place of
a Scherzo.
The
finale, even more agitatedly expressive than the opening movement, reflects all
the anguish and fear that Janáček expressed in his letters to Kamila, yet there
is also a sense of emotional triumph. Tempo changes are everywhere; dynamic
levels rise and fall almost measure by measure. The opening time signature is
2/4, signifying two beats to each bar, but this pace is varied with the
inclusion of extended triplet passages (three notes to a group). The opening
Allegro slows down to Andante and evolves into a central Adagio that goes from
triple piano (very, very soft) to triple forte. To conclude, Janáček returns to
Tempo I and a varied statement of the movement's opening motives, followed by a
softly whispering passage that gives way to a frenetic rush to the end
punctuated with an exclamation point by three sharply-accented concluding
chords.
To purchase the CD or download this performance, click here.
Cedille Records is the recording label of The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, a publicly-supported, not-for-profit, organization devoted to promoting the finest musicians, ensembles, and composers in the Chicago area by producing and releasing their efforts on audiophile-quality recordings. The recordings and their promotion are designed to stimulate interest in these performers and composers and bring their artistry to a wider audience. Cedille Records is also dedicated to promoting interest in neglected areas of the classical repertory by presenting masterpieces that have been overlooked by other recording companies.
Classical Music | Music for Quartet
Leoš Janáček
String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters" Play
Recorded on 01/04/2006, uploaded on 03/30/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
The life of the oldest, earliest composer on this CD may be briefly summarized as decades of obscurity in a backwater of the Austro-Hungarian Empire followed by a dramatic reversal toward fame and fortune in a newly-established independent nation. Born in a remote Moravian village in 1854, Leoš Janáček was trained as both a musician and a teacher, and spent most of his first 60 years - more than a lifetime, for some people - in the provincial capital of Brno, where he was an organist, choir director, teacher, and folk-music researcher as well as composer. His principal interest was in opera, but he also wrote symphonic and chamber works, plus a great many choral pieces. His operatic efforts were little appreciated. His life was one of continuity, routine, duty, frustration, and surely more than a little boredom. And then, in 1916, in the midst of a world war, the Prague National Opera agreed to produce his opera Jenufa; this was the beginning of his national and international renown, and of his renewed zest for life and art. This "eternally young old man from Brno" (as one biographer put it) wrote, in his sixties and seventies, four more major operas (Katya Kabanova, The Makropoulos Affair, The Cunning Little Vixen, and From the House of the Dead), plus orchestral works, two string quartets, and the Glagolitic Mass.
The inspiration for this outburst of creativity came from more than his new-found fame; it was spurred greatly by his love for a woman 38 years his junior. Kamila Stösslová, the great love of his life, was the wife of a Bohemian merchant. She never left her husband; Janáček never left his wife. Their affair was apparently conducted largely through correspondence, but its emotional intensity is witnessed by many of the composer's late works, the string quartets in particular. The inspiration of this love was so great that in the last year of his life, Janáček could declare: "Life is young! It's spring! I am not afraid to live, to open my eyes, for life is beautiful."
Janáček's style fits into no special school or trend; it remains uniquely his own, a blend inspired by many influences: his study of Moravian folk melodies and speech patterns; his interest in other Eastern European cultural heritages, especially those of Russia; and the confluence of Romantic and modernist trends that characterized the early 20th century. The sound world of his second quartet is sharply cut off from its companions on this CD. Hindemith and Crawford Seeger used the ancient genre of the string quartet to speak new musical languages. Janáček, despite the originality of his style, was rooted in the traditions of late Romanticism, and the lushness of his themes and their harmonization recall the larger-scale symphonic works of Mahler and Richard Strauss - neither of them any kind of specialist in chamber music, but composers who spoke with a personal voice in rich harmonies that express very private, very inward emotions in an outwardly expansive way that seeks the universal. A younger Janáček contemporary, Alban Berg, though part of the atonal Schoenbergian school, used chamber music in much the same way: to express deep, often secret, feelings.
Janáček's first string quartet, from 1923, was subtitled "Kreutzer Sonata": not a reference to Beethoven's work with this subtitle, but to a short story by Russia's Leo Tolstoy, partly inspired by Beethoven's music, relating the tale of a disastrous marriage. The second quartet, dating from 1928, was originally subtitled "Love Letters," but the composer pulled back from this too-revealing appellation in favor of "Intimate Letters." It is a work directly addressed to Kamila, reflecting "the anguish that I feel about you" (as he wrote to her). The whole piece is one long instrumental love song. Its frequent shifts of mood reflect the often-sudden changes of feeling and attitude that are experienced in the course of a love affair. Even more evocative of an intimate relationship are the almost constant shifts of tempo, sometimes covering just a few measures at a time before another change of pace ensues. These tempo changes reflect the vicissitudes of a loving but risky relationship: advance and retreat, eagerness and regret.
In one of his many letters to his love, Janáček detailed specific themes for each of the quartet's four movements: their first meeting, a summer sojourn at a spa, a vision "resembling your image," and finally, "a fear for you . . . that eventually sounds not as fear, but as longing and fulfillment."
A Baroque predecessor of our modern viola is the even more mellow-toned viola d'amore, or Love Viola; Janáček originally thought of employing this archaic instrument, but he Janáček's first string quartet, from 1923, was subtitled "Kreutzer Sonata": not a reference to Beethoven's work with this subtitle, but to a short story by Russia's Leo Tolstoy, partly inspired by Beethoven's music, relating the tale of a disastrous marriage. The second quartet, dating from 1928, was originally subtitled "Love Letters," but the composer pulled back from this too-revealing appellation in favor of "Intimate Letters." It is a work directly addressed to Kamila, reflecting "the anguish that I feel about you" (as he wrote to her). The whole piece is one long instrumental love song. Its frequent shifts of mood reflect the often-sudden changes of feeling and attitude that are experienced in the course of a love affair. Even more evocative of an intimate relationship are the almost constant shifts of tempo, sometimes covering just a few measures at a time before another change of pace ensues. These tempo changes reflect the vicissitudes of a loving but risky relationship: advance and retreat, eagerness and regret.
In one of his many letters to his love, Janáček detailed specific themes for each of the quartet's four movements: their first meeting, a summer sojourn at a spa, a vision "resembling your image," and finally, "a fear for you . . . that eventually sounds not as fear, but as longing and fulfillment."
A Baroque predecessor of our modern viola is the even more mellow-toned viola d'amore, or Love Viola; Janáček originally thought of employing this archaic instrument, but he eventually decided against it. He asks the modern viola player to play "sul ponticello," near the instrument's bridge, on numerous occasions; this adds an astringency to the sound that heightens the tension of the emotions being expressed.
The entire quartet is dominated and informed by the motto theme heard at the very beginning. It returns in many permutated forms. It is treated in rondo fashion in the opening movement, which begins at a moderate Andante pace that picks up into a more ardent Allegro. The heartfelt second movement begins at an Adagio pace, very slow, but is interspersed with agitated Vivace passages; here the motto becomes the basis for a set of free variations. The third and fourth movements restate the motto in a number of combinations and variants; the ear is struck once again by the constant variations of tempo. Moderato becomes Adagio becomes Allegro in the third movement, holding the traditional place of a Scherzo.
The finale, even more agitatedly expressive than the opening movement, reflects all the anguish and fear that Janáček expressed in his letters to Kamila, yet there is also a sense of emotional triumph. Tempo changes are everywhere; dynamic levels rise and fall almost measure by measure. The opening time signature is 2/4, signifying two beats to each bar, but this pace is varied with the inclusion of extended triplet passages (three notes to a group). The opening Allegro slows down to Andante and evolves into a central Adagio that goes from triple piano (very, very soft) to triple forte. To conclude, Janáček returns to Tempo I and a varied statement of the movement's opening motives, followed by a softly whispering passage that gives way to a frenetic rush to the end punctuated with an exclamation point by three sharply-accented concluding chords.
More music by Leoš Janáček
On an Overgrown Path I, They chattered like swallows
In the Mists
Pohadka (Fairy Tale)
Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, From the Street
Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, From the Street
String Quartet No. 1 "Kreutzer Sonata"
Moravian Folk Dances
On an Overgrown Path I, Our evening
On an Overgrown Path I, A blown-away leaf
On an Overgrown Path I, Come along with us
Performances by same musician(s)
String Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 97
String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 44 No. 2
String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4
Classical Music for the Internet Era™
To purchase the CD or download this performance, click here.
Cedille Records is the recording label of The Chicago Classical Recording Foundation, a publicly-supported, not-for-profit, organization devoted to promoting the finest musicians, ensembles, and composers in the Chicago area by producing and releasing their efforts on audiophile-quality recordings. The recordings and their promotion are designed to stimulate interest in these performers and composers and bring their artistry to a wider audience. Cedille Records is also dedicated to promoting interest in neglected areas of the classical repertory by presenting masterpieces that have been overlooked by other recording companies.