| String Quartet | |
|---|---|
| by Anton Bruckner | |
 The composer, c. 1860 | |
| Catalogue | WAB 111 |
| Composed | 28 July 1862: Linz |
| Performed | 15 February 1951: Berlin |
| Published | 1955 |
| Recorded | 1962 |
| Movements | 4 |
The String Quartet in C minor WAB 111, was composed by Anton Bruckner's in 1862 during his tuition by Otto Kitzler.
In the spring of 1862, during his tuition by Otto Kitzler, Bruckner composed two scherzi for string quartet in F major and G minor. Thereafter, between 28 July and 7 August 1862, he composed the String Quartet in C minor, [1] as a preliminary to exercises in orchestration. The manuscript of the Quartet was found on pp. 165–196 of the Kitzler-Studienbuch . [2]
On reviewing Bruckner's work one week later (15 August 1862), Kitzler was perhaps dissatisfied with Bruckner's unconventionality of the first rondo. He therefore suggested that a Rondo in größerer Form [2] and in a more traditional rondo-sonata form would have benefited the piece. [3] The 40-bars longer piece, which has the same key, metre and formal structure as the first Rondo, can, therefore, be regarded as an alternative to the first Rondo. [4]
The Quartet was not issued during Bruckner's life, since it concerned a sample of capability during his study period at Kitzler. [2] Bruckner did not bequeath a score of it as he did for the later Four Orchestral Pieces. The Kitzler-Studienbuch was wound up in the legacy of Bruckner's friend Josef Schalk in Munich, in which the Quartet was discovered in 1950 by the Koeckert Quartet. The Koeckert Quartet premiered the Quartet on 15 February 1951 in a broadcast of the Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor, and performed it on 8 March 1951 in a concert in Hamburg. [2] There are recordings of the 1951 premiere in the broadcasting archives of the RIAS, its successor the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, and the Bavarian and Norddeutsche Rundfunk. [5] A recording from the archive of the NDR is available in the Bruckner Archive. [6]
The String Quartet was edited by Nowak in Band XIII/1 of the Gesamtausgabe in 1955.
The piece is a conventional string quartet in the usual four movements:
Duration: 19 to 24 minutes.
Unlike his later works, Bruckner gave few indications as to phrasing, while dynamics appear only at a few key points. Rudolf Koeckert allowed Leopold Nowak to put his group's phrasing and dynamics into the Gesamtausgabe parts. However, the Gesamtausgabe score contains only those markings in Bruckner's hand. The String Quartet is a settlement with classical and early romantic examples. The from the beginning polyphonic imprint refers back to Bruckner's earlier exercises. [1]
The first movement, in traditional sonata form, is with audacious modulations in the development. [1] The exposition is marked for repeat; the only other Bruckner work with such a repeat is the Symphony in F minor. [7]
The Andante, in three parts (ABA) with modified reprise, [1] mirrors Beethoven's choice of key for a slow movement after a C minor Allegro, but having the central section in the parallel minor is something Bruckner never does again. [8]
The Trio of the Scherzo is in Ländler form. [1] Derek Watson finds that the Trio "has a Schubertian, freshly bucolic charm." [8]
The Rondo has virtuoso accents. [1] The B theme appears first in E-flat major and later in C major, and the last turn of the A theme is highly ornamented. This rondo has a curious feature, in that in Part 6, the B theme from Part 2 and the C theme from Part 4 are present together. [9]
One can already see connections to later Bruckner works in the key (C minor), in several harmonic phrases and theme patterns, as well as the use of Ländler motives. [1]
There are about 10 recordings of the String Quartet.
The live-performance by the Koeckert Quartet (9 March 1951) from the archive of the NDR is released on CD 2 of Music from the Archives, Volume 1, SOMM recordings ARIADNE 5025-2, 15 March 2024.
Excellent recordings are according to Hans Roelofs i.a. those by the Koeckert Quartett (1974), L'Archibudelli, the Fine Arts Quartet and the Zehetmair Streichquartett. Where the Koeckert Quartet actually disregarded the few dynamics markings Bruckner gave, [10] the Fine Arts Quartet obeys Bruckner's markings but mostly ignores Koeckert's.
The Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27 is a setting of the mass ordinary for eight-part mixed choir and fifteen wind instruments, that Anton Bruckner composed in 1866.
Anton Bruckner's String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 was composed in 1878/79 in Vienna.
The Four Orchestral Pieces are four short orchestral pieces, which Anton Bruckner composed in the fall of 1862 during his tuition with Otto Kitzler.
The Fest-Kantate Preiset den Herrn, WAB 16, is a festive cantata composed by Anton Bruckner in 1862 for the celebration of the laying of the foundation stone of the new Mariä-Empfängnis-Dom of Linz.
The Bruckner Gesamtausgabe is a critical edition of the works of Anton Bruckner. Published by Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien in Vienna, it comprises three successive editions.
The Rondo in C minor is a composition for string quartet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. It was written in 1862 but was not performed publicly until 1984, after the composer's death. A critical edition was first published in 1985 and the piece was first recorded in 1992 by the Raphael Quartet.
The Intermezzo in D minor is an 1879 composition by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. Although it was intended to replace the scherzo of the String Quintet, that piece was instead performed in its original form; the Intermezzo was not publicly premiered until after the composer's death.
Virga Jesse, WAB 52, is a motet by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. It sets the gradual Virga Jesse floruit for unaccompanied mixed choir.
The Two Aequali, WAB 114 & WAB 149, were composed by Anton Bruckner in 1847.
Ave Regina caelorum, WAB 8, is a motet composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1886.
Inveni David, WAB 19, is a sacred motet composed by Anton Bruckner in 1868.
"Ständchen" ("Serenade"), WAB 84.2, is a Lied composed by Anton Bruckner in c. 1846.
Der Abendhimmel, WAB 56, is a song composed by Anton Bruckner in 1866. It is the second setting of the work. In 1862, Bruckner had already composed a first setting of the song for men's voice quartet.
Herbstkummer, WAB 72 is a lied composed by Anton Bruckner in 1864.
The Kitzler Study Book is an autograph workbook of Anton Bruckner which he wrote taking tuition with the conductor and cellist Otto Kitzler in Linz. Bruckner tried to complete his knowledge in musical form and instrumentation with Kitzler after the end of his studies with Simon Sechter.
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