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String Quartet No. 1 (Smetana)

April 09, 2024

String Quartet No. 1 ("From My Life", Czech: "Z mého života") in E minor, written in 1876, is a four-movement chamber composition by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. It is an autobiographical work with nationalistic elements and was published in 1880 by František Augustin Urbánek in Prague. It was given a private premiere in 1878 in Prague, with Antonín Dvořák as violist, and its public premiere took place on 29 March 1879, performed by Ferdinand Lachner, Jan Pelikán, Josef Krehan and Alois Neruda.[1] Smetana was a complex figure in his time, straddling his Austro-Hungarian upbringing coupled with his ethnic Czech background. His first quartet encompasses the politics and culture that resulted from that upbringing.

The last page of the autograph score of Smetana's first string quartet

Background edit

Autobiography edit

At an unknown point in Smetana’s life, he contracted syphilis—in 1874, at 50 years old, his health began to swiftly decline. After a gradual decrease in his hearing, he became completely deaf by October of that year. It is widely believed that his deafness was caused by syphilis.[2][3] After becoming deaf, Smetana moved in 1876 from Prague to Jabkenice. He still hoped that the condition would not be permanent. In the autumn of that year, he began to compose a new work. It was to be his intimate confession, a work depicting the course of his life. Included in the work was a high-pitched E natural which mimicked the ringing in his ears. He completed the composition on 29 December 1876. In a letter to his friend Josef Srb-Debrnov, Smetana formulated the work's ideological conception and the features of the individual movements. Smetana endured many hardships throughout his life, and these hardships inspired him to write music. For example, his daughter's death was the inspiration to write his Piano Trio in G minor, while the death of his first wife, Catherine, was the inspiration for the third movement of his String Quartet No. 1.[4] The work was published in 1880 by Fr. Urbánek in Prague.

Nationalism edit

Though he was known for his orchestral and operatic works,[4] in his last years, Smetana’s From My Life (Quartet No. 1) was played more frequently than his other works.[5] His chamber music was seen as less of a threat perhaps because much of his other work held political undertones of Czech nationalism.[5][6][7][8][9] While his Quartet No. 1 was not overtly political, it honored his Czech roots with the polka featured in the second movement.[4]

Before 1848, in Czech lands, most of the bourgeoisie was speaking German as their first language.[10] Smetana's parents spoke mostly Czech at home and German in their professional life. Smetana himself studied in schools, where education was provided in German and struggled to master the Czech language later in life.[11] His music is often held as the beginning and premier of distinctively Czech music.[7]

Structure edit

The cycle consists of four movements:

  1. Allegro vivo appassionato
  2. Allegro moderato à la Polka
  3. Largo sostenuto
  4. Vivace

Smetana described the first movement as a romantically driven sketch of his youth as an artist. He also wrote of the movement’s forewarning of the future, as well as a longing for the indefinable. Smetana described the second movement as a polka holding nationalistic tones. The movement depicts his youth as a lover of dance—Smetana held this love from the early age of 6. The third movement was composed as a tribute to his first wife, whom Smetana pronounced his “first love.”[12] The last movement entails Smetana’s loss of hearing and the decay of his health, containing a held E natural which mimicked the ringing in his ears.[12] In his letter, Smetana understood his First Quartet to take on an unconventional form.[13]

The work is semi-autobiographical and consists of sketches of periods from Smetana's life, as is suggested by its subtitle Z mého života ("From My Life"). Its notable features include a prominent viola solo at the very beginning of the first movement, and a high, sustained harmonic E on the first violin in the last movement, which represents the ringing in his ears that presaged Smetana's deafness, although the actual ringing was a chord in A-flat major.

The prominent viola solo in the first movement, as well as the significant use of viola throughout, uniquely captures the sense of foreboding and the rich romanticism entailed throughout the movement.[14]

A performance of the full work lasts around 28 minutes.

Use in film edit

The dramatic opening of the first movement was featured in the 1992 film Sneakers at a concert which the characters attend.

Orchestral version edit

George Szell orchestrated the piece in the mid-twentieth century to bring it to new audiences. This version is rarely played, but orchestral recordings exist and it was performed at the BBC Proms in 2012.[15]

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Berger, Melvin (2001). Guide to chamber music (3rd, corr. ed.). Mineola, NY: Dover. ISBN 0-486-41879-0. OCLC 46671142.
  2. ^ St. Pierre, Kelly (2013-11-01). "Smetana's "Vyšehrad" and Mythologies of Czechness in Scholarship". 19th-Century Music. 37 (2): 91–112. doi:10.1525/ncm.2013.37.2.91. ISSN 0148-2076.
  3. ^ O'Neill, Desmond (2012-05-18). "String Quartets by Bedrich Smetana". BMJ. 344 (may18 1): e3499. doi:10.1136/bmj.e3497. ISSN 1756-1833. S2CID 220115680.
  4. ^ a b c Helfert, Vladimir (1924). "Bedřich Smetana (1824—2 March—1924)". The Slavonic Review. 3 (7): 141–155. ISSN 1471-7816. JSTOR 4201826.
  5. ^ a b Clapham, John (1984). "Smetana" (PDF). Masarykovy Univerzity: 69–83.
  6. ^ Katz, Derek (1997). "Smetana's Second String Quartet: Voice of Madness or Triumph of Spirit?". The Musical Quarterly. 81 (4): 516–536. doi:10.1093/mq/81.4.516. ISSN 0027-4631. JSTOR 742284.
  7. ^ a b Holländer, Hans; Baker, Theodore (1934). "Modern Czechoslovakian Music". The Musical Quarterly. 20 (3): 302–311. doi:10.1093/mq/XX.3.302. ISSN 0027-4631. JSTOR 738651.
  8. ^ Nekula, Marek; Rychnovská, Lucie (2016). "The Language of Smetana's Letters and Diaries in the Context of His Time". In Olga Mojžíšová; Milan Pospíšil (eds.). Bedřich Smetana, Korespondence I (1840-1862). Prague: Národní muzeum – Koniasch Latin Press. pp. 123–181.
  9. ^ Burns, Mary T. (1975). "An Analysis of Selected Folk-Style Themes In the Music of Bedrich Smetana and Aaron Copland". American Music Teacher. 25 (2): 8–10. ISSN 0003-0112. JSTOR 43537933.
  10. ^ Brodbeck, David (2009). "Hanslick's Smetana and Hanslick's Prague". Journal of the Royal Musical Association. 134 (1): 1–36. doi:10.1080/14716930902809114. ISSN 0269-0403. S2CID 162390872.
  11. ^ Nekula, Marek; Rychnovská, Lucie (2012). "Jakou češtinu užíval Bedřich Smetana?" (PDF). Musicalia (1–2): 12–14. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  12. ^ a b Helfert, Vladimir (1924). "Bedřich Smetana (1824--2 March--1924)". The Slavonic Review. 3 (7): 141–155. ISSN 1471-7816. JSTOR 4201826.
  13. ^ Clapham, John (1971). "The Smetana-Pivoda Controversy". Music & Letters. 52 (4): 353–364. doi:10.1093/ml/LII.4.353. ISSN 0027-4224. JSTOR 734710.
  14. ^ Katz, Derek (1997). "Smetana's Second String Quartet: Voice of Madness or Triumph of Spirit?". The Musical Quarterly. 81 (4): 516–536. doi:10.1093/mq/81.4.516. ISSN 0027-4631. JSTOR 742284.
  15. ^ "BBC Radio 3 - BBC Proms, 2012, Prom 15, Smetana, Prokofiev".

See also edit

References edit

  • Bedřich Smetana: Quartetto I. Mi minore. Z mého života. Score. Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1991. S 7676. ISBN 80-7058-286-3

External links edit

April 09, 2024
string, quartet, smetana, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, string, quartet, smetana, news, newspapers. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources String Quartet No 1 Smetana news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2024 Learn how and when to remove this template message String Quartet No 1 From My Life Czech Z meho zivota in E minor written in 1876 is a four movement chamber composition by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana It is an autobiographical work with nationalistic elements and was published in 1880 by Frantisek Augustin Urbanek in Prague It was given a private premiere in 1878 in Prague with Antonin Dvorak as violist and its public premiere took place on 29 March 1879 performed by Ferdinand Lachner Jan Pelikan Josef Krehan and Alois Neruda 1 Smetana was a complex figure in his time straddling his Austro Hungarian upbringing coupled with his ethnic Czech background His first quartet encompasses the politics and culture that resulted from that upbringing The last page of the autograph score of Smetana s first string quartet Contents 1 Background 1 1 Autobiography 1 2 Nationalism 2 Structure 3 Use in film 4 Orchestral version 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksBackground editAutobiography edit At an unknown point in Smetana s life he contracted syphilis in 1874 at 50 years old his health began to swiftly decline After a gradual decrease in his hearing he became completely deaf by October of that year It is widely believed that his deafness was caused by syphilis 2 3 After becoming deaf Smetana moved in 1876 from Prague to Jabkenice He still hoped that the condition would not be permanent In the autumn of that year he began to compose a new work It was to be his intimate confession a work depicting the course of his life Included in the work was a high pitched E natural which mimicked the ringing in his ears He completed the composition on 29 December 1876 In a letter to his friend Josef Srb Debrnov Smetana formulated the work s ideological conception and the features of the individual movements Smetana endured many hardships throughout his life and these hardships inspired him to write music For example his daughter s death was the inspiration to write his Piano Trio in G minor while the death of his first wife Catherine was the inspiration for the third movement of his String Quartet No 1 4 The work was published in 1880 by Fr Urbanek in Prague Nationalism edit Though he was known for his orchestral and operatic works 4 in his last years Smetana s From My Life Quartet No 1 was played more frequently than his other works 5 His chamber music was seen as less of a threat perhaps because much of his other work held political undertones of Czech nationalism 5 6 7 8 9 While his Quartet No 1 was not overtly political it honored his Czech roots with the polka featured in the second movement 4 Before 1848 in Czech lands most of the bourgeoisie was speaking German as their first language 10 Smetana s parents spoke mostly Czech at home and German in their professional life Smetana himself studied in schools where education was provided in German and struggled to master the Czech language later in life 11 His music is often held as the beginning and premier of distinctively Czech music 7 Structure editThe cycle consists of four movements Allegro vivo appassionato Allegro moderato a la Polka Largo sostenuto VivaceSmetana described the first movement as a romantically driven sketch of his youth as an artist He also wrote of the movement s forewarning of the future as well as a longing for the indefinable Smetana described the second movement as a polka holding nationalistic tones The movement depicts his youth as a lover of dance Smetana held this love from the early age of 6 The third movement was composed as a tribute to his first wife whom Smetana pronounced his first love 12 The last movement entails Smetana s loss of hearing and the decay of his health containing a held E natural which mimicked the ringing in his ears 12 In his letter Smetana understood his First Quartet to take on an unconventional form 13 The work is semi autobiographical and consists of sketches of periods from Smetana s life as is suggested by its subtitle Z meho zivota From My Life Its notable features include a prominent viola solo at the very beginning of the first movement and a high sustained harmonic E on the first violin in the last movement which represents the ringing in his ears that presaged Smetana s deafness although the actual ringing was a chord in A flat major The prominent viola solo in the first movement as well as the significant use of viola throughout uniquely captures the sense of foreboding and the rich romanticism entailed throughout the movement 14 A performance of the full work lasts around 28 minutes Use in film editThe dramatic opening of the first movement was featured in the 1992 film Sneakers at a concert which the characters attend Orchestral version editGeorge Szell orchestrated the piece in the mid twentieth century to bring it to new audiences This version is rarely played but orchestral recordings exist and it was performed at the BBC Proms in 2012 15 See also editString Quartet No 2 Smetana Footnotes edit Berger Melvin 2001 Guide to chamber music 3rd corr ed Mineola NY Dover ISBN 0 486 41879 0 OCLC 46671142 St Pierre Kelly 2013 11 01 Smetana s Vysehrad and Mythologies of Czechness in Scholarship 19th Century Music 37 2 91 112 doi 10 1525 ncm 2013 37 2 91 ISSN 0148 2076 O Neill Desmond 2012 05 18 String Quartets by Bedrich Smetana BMJ 344 may18 1 e3499 doi 10 1136 bmj e3497 ISSN 1756 1833 S2CID 220115680 a b c Helfert Vladimir 1924 Bedrich Smetana 1824 2 March 1924 The Slavonic Review 3 7 141 155 ISSN 1471 7816 JSTOR 4201826 a b Clapham John 1984 Smetana PDF Masarykovy Univerzity 69 83 Katz Derek 1997 Smetana s Second String Quartet Voice of Madness or Triumph of Spirit The Musical Quarterly 81 4 516 536 doi 10 1093 mq 81 4 516 ISSN 0027 4631 JSTOR 742284 a b Hollander Hans Baker Theodore 1934 Modern Czechoslovakian Music The Musical Quarterly 20 3 302 311 doi 10 1093 mq XX 3 302 ISSN 0027 4631 JSTOR 738651 Nekula Marek Rychnovska Lucie 2016 The Language of Smetana s Letters and Diaries in the Context of His Time In Olga Mojzisova Milan Pospisil eds Bedrich Smetana Korespondence I 1840 1862 Prague Narodni muzeum Koniasch Latin Press pp 123 181 Burns Mary T 1975 An Analysis of Selected Folk Style Themes In the Music of Bedrich Smetana and Aaron Copland American Music Teacher 25 2 8 10 ISSN 0003 0112 JSTOR 43537933 Brodbeck David 2009 Hanslick s Smetana and Hanslick s Prague Journal of the Royal Musical Association 134 1 1 36 doi 10 1080 14716930902809114 ISSN 0269 0403 S2CID 162390872 Nekula Marek Rychnovska Lucie 2012 Jakou cestinu uzival Bedrich Smetana PDF Musicalia 1 2 12 14 Retrieved 29 April 2023 a b Helfert Vladimir 1924 Bedrich Smetana 1824 2 March 1924 The Slavonic Review 3 7 141 155 ISSN 1471 7816 JSTOR 4201826 Clapham John 1971 The Smetana Pivoda Controversy Music amp Letters 52 4 353 364 doi 10 1093 ml LII 4 353 ISSN 0027 4224 JSTOR 734710 Katz Derek 1997 Smetana s Second String Quartet Voice of Madness or Triumph of Spirit The Musical Quarterly 81 4 516 536 doi 10 1093 mq 81 4 516 ISSN 0027 4631 JSTOR 742284 BBC Radio 3 BBC Proms 2012 Prom 15 Smetana Prokofiev See also editList of compositions by Bedrich SmetanaReferences editBedrich Smetana Quartetto I Mi minore Z meho zivota Score Prague Editio Supraphon 1991 S 7676 ISBN 80 7058 286 3External links editString Quartet No 1 in E minor JB 1 105 Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Notes by Joseph Way Notes to a performance by the La Jolla Music Society Portal nbsp Classical Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title String Quartet No 1 Smetana amp oldid 1200984026, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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