The String Quartet in E minor is a chamber music work by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed between 1868 and 1876, thus during the years in which Verdi was occupied with the opera Aida and the Messa da Requiem. The premiere of a first version took place on April 1, 1873, as a private performance in the reception hall of the Albergo della Crocelle in Naples. The premiere of the definitive version, which was printed shortly thereafter, followed again as a private performance on June 1, 1876, at the Hôtel de Bade in Paris.

Composition

According to the composer's account, Verdi's only string quartet was composed in a few weeks during rehearsals for the Neapolitan premiere of Aida at the Teatro San Carlo, where Verdi had traveled with his wife Giuseppina. After the rehearsals were delayed due to an indisposition of the singer Teresa Stolz, who was supposed to sing Aida, Verdi found time for this string quartet. The premiere of a first version occurred two days after the Aida premiere in a private setting. However, Verdi's musical working manuscripts, which have been accessible since 2019, refute this legend: The first sketches for the third and fourth movements originated no later than the autumn of 1868. These manuscripts also contain a fragmentary autograph score by Verdi's hand, as well as a complete set of parts, both of which document a version that deviates significantly from the one later printed.

Verdi initially hesitated to publish the work. Only after the successful Paris performance of a fundamentally revised version was it published by Escudier in Paris, Ricordi in Milan, and Schott (Mainz).

Movement Titles

• Allegro

• Andantino con eleganza

• Prestissimo (formally a scherzo)

• Scherzo. Fuga. Allegro assai mosso [in the first version of 1873: Finale. Andante sostenuto - Allegro vivo].

The duration is approximately 24 minutes.

Analysis

Despite the echoes of Aida, which are found primarily in the 1st movement, Verdi's string quartet is mainly oriented towards the Viennese Classics, with Wolfgang Stähr suggesting a formal adaptation of Joseph Haydn's String Quartet in C major, Op. 20 No. 2, due to the fugue in the final movement. Julian Budden, on the other hand, sees parallels in the first movement to Mozart's G minor String Quintet.

The 1st movement corresponds to a two-part variant of the sonata form. Initially, the second violin presents the main theme on the lowest string. The secondary theme follows in measure 57 in a homophonic setting by all four instruments. At the end of the exposition, a third theme, rhythmically syncopated, is introduced. According to Otto Emil Schumann, "the concise visual imagery is maintained" in the development section.

The 2nd movement, the Andantino, is ternary (three-part). A "slight A minor melancholy" prevails, which is, however, dispelled by the "driving force" of the middle section in G-flat major, which was newly composed for the definitive 1876 version.

The 3rd movement corresponds to a Scherzo. The tempo is initially prestissimo (very fast), like a Danse infernale(infernal dance), while the Trio is more song-like, introduced by the cello as in a serenade and accompanied by the pizzicato of the other strings.

In the final movement, which Verdi designated as Scherzo. Fuga, a counterpoint is evident that points towards the Messa da Requiem and the final fugue in Falstaff as well as the Quattro pezzi sacri. The fugal form of the movement is maintained until the end but is "enriched by lovely harmonies and cadences."

In addition to passages oriented towards the Viennese Classics and counterpoint, Verdi's string quartet also features distinctly operatic elements in individual figures of the accompanying voices or in the cello cantilena in the 3rd movement. Budden also pointed out this stylistic device: "[...] the occasional slipping into a frieze-like figuration betrays the composer of accompanying figures common in opera."

Reception

Verdi's String Quartet is set within the context of the controversies, fought since the mid-1860s, concerning the importance of the prevailing Italian genre of opera versus pure instrumental music. In Verdi's opinion, the string quartet lived in Italy "like a plant outside its climate." Initially, the Società del Quartetto (Quartet Society), founded by Abramo Basevi in Florence in 1861, did nothing to change this situation.

Verdi's String Quartet, which is often regarded as an occasional work, is nevertheless the only Italian chamber music work of the 19th century that has consistently maintained its place in the concert repertoire. Otto Emil Schumann also confirmed this in his Handbuch der Kammermusik (Handbook of Chamber Music): "The musical Italy of the 19th century produced only one truly significant chamber music work that was able to establish itself throughout the world: Verdi's E minor String Quartet."

Budden summarized: "Verdi's Quartet may not quite reach the level of the great classical quartets, but it is certainly a beautiful and original contribution to the repertoire."

Verdi pretended not to attach any special importance to the work. However, for years he meticulously worked on the contrapuntal passages in particular. In doing so, he fundamentally altered the fugal final movement above all. In the first version of 1873, this movement was significantly characterized by legato, while in the published version, staccato dominates at an extremely fast tempo. It almost seems as if the composer wanted to sonically distort the compositional model of a 'Baroque' musical setting beyond recognition and drive out any "espressivo" from the fugue, which appeared much more graceful in the first version. He later remarked: "I don't know if it's good or bad, but a quartet it is."

After Anselm Gerhard discovered the previously unknown first version in the Parma State Archives in 2021, it is now also available in a critical edition of both versions. The Vogler Quartet is preparing the first performance of this version since 1873 for a concert on March 27, 2023, in the foyer of the Leipzig Opera.

Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streichquartett_e-Moll_(Verdi) / License: CC BY-SA 4.0