The String Quartet No. 1 in A minor by Béla Bartók was completed in 1909. The score is dated January 27 of that year.
The work is in three movements, played without breaks between each:
Lento Allegretto (sometimes referred to as Poco a poco accelerando all'allegretto) Allegro vivace
The work was at least in part inspired by Bartók's unrequited love for the violinist Stefi Geyer - in a letter to her, he called the first movement a "funeral dirge" and its opening notes trace a motif which first appeared in his Violin Concerto No. 1, a work dedicated to Geyer and suppressed by Bartók for many years. The intense contrapuntal writing of this movement is often compared to Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, the opening movement of which is a slow fugue.
The following two movements are progressively faster, and the mood of the work lightens considerably, ending quite happily. The third movement is generally considered to be the most typical of Bartók's mature style, including early evidence of his interest in Hungarian folk music.
The piece was premiered on March 19, 1910 in Budapest by the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, two days after Bartók played the piano with them in a concert dedicated to the music of Zoltán Kodály. It was first published in 1911 in Hungary.
Classical Music | Violin Music
Béla Bartók
String Quartet No. 1, Sz. 40 Play
Recorded on 07/16/2012, uploaded on 12/22/2012
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
The String Quartet No. 1 in A minor by Béla Bartók was completed in 1909. The score is dated January 27 of that year.
The work is in three movements, played without breaks between each:
Lento
Allegretto (sometimes referred to as Poco a poco accelerando all'allegretto)
Allegro vivace
The work was at least in part inspired by Bartók's unrequited love for the violinist Stefi Geyer - in a letter to her, he called the first movement a "funeral dirge" and its opening notes trace a motif which first appeared in his Violin Concerto No. 1, a work dedicated to Geyer and suppressed by Bartók for many years. The intense contrapuntal writing of this movement is often compared to Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14, the opening movement of which is a slow fugue.
The following two movements are progressively faster, and the mood of the work lightens considerably, ending quite happily. The third movement is generally considered to be the most typical of Bartók's mature style, including early evidence of his interest in Hungarian folk music.
The piece was premiered on March 19, 1910 in Budapest by the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, two days after Bartók played the piano with them in a concert dedicated to the music of Zoltán Kodály. It was first published in 1911 in Hungary.
(from wikipedia.org)
More music by Béla Bartók
Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
Second Rhapsody for violin and piano
String Quartet No. 1, Sz. 40
First Rhapsody: Prima parte, “Lassu”
Six Romanian Popular Songs
Two Portraits, Op. 5, No. 1 "Idealistic" Andante sostenuto
Rhapsody No. 1
Romanian Folk Dances
Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20
Suite Paysanne Hongroise
Performances by same musician(s)
Piano Quintet in f minor, Op 34
String Quintet No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 87
Sonata for Violin in E-flat Major, Op. 18
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