Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 12/12/2012, uploaded on 12/12/2012

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Animé et très décidé
Assez vif et bien rytmé
Andantino, doucement expressif
Très modéré - En animant peu à peu - Très mouvementé et avec passion

In 1892, Claude Debussy found himself hopelessly struggling to complete his planned opera Rodrigue et Chimène, forcing himself to work with a libretto he knew was wholly incompatible with his concept of both music and drama. Ultimately, he abandoned the project and in the aftermath turned to the composition of chamber music. Two string quartets were planned, yet only one materialized—the String Quartet in G minor. Completed in 1893, it is considered a landmark in the history of chamber music, much in the same way Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune is in orchestral music. While its fame and importance is certainly solidified today, it was less than enthusiastically received at its premiere by the Ysaÿe Quartet on December 29, 1893.

Drawing on the principles of cyclic form which was used frequently by César Franck, Debussy’s String Quartet manages to stand upon the threshold between the waning Romantic tradition that had predominated Western music, while also looking forward to the techniques of the opening decades of the 20^th century. Harmony and melody likewise give way to Debussy’s burgeoning Impressionism, and despite the work’s keen motivic unity, rhythm and timbre often become the focus of the composer’s and thereby audience’s attention.

Cast in the traditional four-movement pattern, the String Quartet in G minor opens with an animated first movement whose initial theme becomes the principal motivic material for the entire piece. In the following scherzo, timbre is a critical element of the music as pizzicato and bowed playing are placed in close juxtaposition and even heard simultaneously, not in the typical context of melody and accompaniment, but as equally important aspects. The Andante third movement is a refreshing repose from the energetic movements that precede it and a breathtakingly beautiful gem in its own right. Lushly harmonized and lyrical outer sections frame a passionately introspective central episode that slowly builds in intensity as the melody is passed between the constituents of the quartet. The sprightly finale, according to Debussy himself, caused him the most grief in its composition. It opens with a slow introduction, serving as an effective bridge from the expressive third movement, before the movement’s chromatically-infused principal theme is heard first in the cello. Debussy creates a compelling conclusion to his quartet as the finale’s forward momentum refuses to be hindered, even in its softer moments, and ultimately culminating in a spirited G major coda.     Joseph DuBose

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The previous year Debussy had abandoned the opera "Rodrigue et Chimène."  He planned to write two string quartets only one of which materialized.

The quartet received its premiere on December 29, 1893 by the Ysaÿe Quartet at the Société Nationale in Paris to mixed reactions.

The work seems to be influenced by the style of César Franck. The result is a cyclic structure with the four movements connected by thematic material. Other influences include Borodin and Javanese gamelan music.

The quartet is considered a watershed in the history of chamber music.

Its sensuality and impressionistic tonal shifts make it a piece absolutely of its time and place while, with its cyclic structure, it constitutes a final divorce from the rules of classical harmony and points the way ahead.

"Any sounds in any combination and in any succession are henceforth free to be used in a musical continuity," Debussy wrote. Pierre Boulez said that Debussy freed chamber music from "rigid structure, frozen rhetoric and rigid aesthetics."

(from wikipedia.org)

The Steans Music Institute is the Ravinia Festival's professional studies program for young musicians.