String Quartet (Webern)
Encyclopedia
The String Quartet, Op. 28 by Anton Webern
is written for the standard string quartet
group of two violin
s, viola
and cello
. It was the last piece of chamber music
that Webern wrote (his other late works include two cantata
s Op. 29/31 and the Variations for Orchestra, Op. 30).
The work was initially planned in November 1936 and was premiered at the Coolidge Festival in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
on September 22, 1938 in response to a commission that year from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
. It is in three movements:
The String Quartet is atonal
, and is composed using the twelve-tone technique
. The tone row
on which the piece is based (B, A, C, B, D, E, C, D, G, F, A, G) is intricately constructed and based on the BACH motif
(B, A, C, B):
The first four notes of the row are the BACH motif itself, followed by its inversion, followed by same motif transposed up a minor sixth
. A special property of this row is that its inversion (G, A, F, G, D, C, E, D, B, C, A, B) is equivalent to its retrograde
.
When Webern sent the score of the piece to Coolidge, he accompanied it with a letter saying that the piece was "purely lyrical" and comparing it to the two and three movement piano sonata
s of Ludwig van Beethoven
.
The piece was first published in 1939 by Boosey & Hawkes
, and was the last of Webern's works to be published in his lifetime. In 1955 another edition appeared from Universal Edition
.
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
is written for the standard string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
group of two violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
. It was the last piece of chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
that Webern wrote (his other late works include two cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s Op. 29/31 and the Variations for Orchestra, Op. 30).
The work was initially planned in November 1936 and was premiered at the Coolidge Festival in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
on September 22, 1938 in response to a commission that year from Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge aka Liz Coolidge , born Elizabeth Penn Sprague, was an American pianist and patron of music, especially of chamber music....
. It is in three movements:
- Mässig (Moderately) – a movement in variation form.
- Gemächlich (Leisurely) – in ternary formTernary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
(ABA), the outer parts being a four part canonCanon (music)In music, a canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration . The initial melody is called the leader , while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower...
with all the notes the same length (fluctuations in tempoTempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
aside). - Sehr fliessend (Very flowing) – a freer movement with numerous changes in texture and mood. In a letter to Erwin SteinErwin SteinErwin Stein was an Austrian musician and writer, prominent as a pupil and friend of Schoenberg, with whom he studied between 1906 and 1910. He was one of Schoenberg’s principal assistants in organizing the Society for Private Musical Performances...
, Webern described the middle part of this movement as a fugueFugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
.
The String Quartet is atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
, and is composed using the twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
. The tone row
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
on which the piece is based (B, A, C, B, D, E, C, D, G, F, A, G) is intricately constructed and based on the BACH motif
BACH motif
In music, the BACH motif is the motif, a succession of notes important or characteristic to a piece, B flat, A, C, B natural. In German musical nomenclature, in which the note B natural is written as H and the B flat as B, it forms Johann Sebastian Bach's family name...
(B, A, C, B):
The first four notes of the row are the BACH motif itself, followed by its inversion, followed by same motif transposed up a minor sixth
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
. A special property of this row is that its inversion (G, A, F, G, D, C, E, D, B, C, A, B) is equivalent to its retrograde
Permutation (music)
In music, a permutation of a set is any ordering of the elements of that set. Different permutations may be related by transformation, through the application of zero or more of certain operations, such as transposition, inversion, retrogradation, circular permutation , or multiplicative operations...
.
When Webern sent the score of the piece to Coolidge, he accompanied it with a letter saying that the piece was "purely lyrical" and comparing it to the two and three movement piano sonata
Piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
s of Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
The piece was first published in 1939 by Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
, and was the last of Webern's works to be published in his lifetime. In 1955 another edition appeared from Universal Edition
Universal Edition
Universal Edition is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, and originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market...
.
External links
- Keillor, John. [ "String Quartet, Op. 28"], AllMusic.com.
- Program notes on the quartet (and other works) by Wayne Shirley