Janek: String Quartet No. 1

• Composer: Leo Janek (1854-1928)
• Format: Study Score – Format guide
• Instrumentation: String Quartet (Violin I, Violin II, Viola, Cello)
• Work: String Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”), JW VII/8
• Binding:
• ISMN: 9790008019173
• Size: 5.3 x 7.3 inches
• Pages: 56

Description

Taking its impulse from the composer’s earlier pianotrio on the subject (now lost), Janekcomposed with Tolstoy’s bitter tragedy _TheKreutzer Sonata _in mind.

The novella tells of an adulterous woman and thehomicidal reaction of her husband. Janek locked in a loveless marriage andpining for another woman was drawn to its sorrowful tale. The composer’s 1900copy of the novella is littered with annotations and comments. But mostarticulate is the resulting score.

Like the later “Intimate Letters”, it is a shiftingkaleidoscope of powerful aphoristic themes. and although the quartet’s intenselyricism and the title recall the Viennese tradition of Beethoven and hissuccessors, Janek’s passion is wholly unique.

Gavin Plumley (excerpt taken from the Newton Classics CD8802072)

Reproduction of the text inany form is only permitted with prior written permission of the author.Adagio

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