String Quartet No. 3 (Bartók)
Encyclopedia
The String Quartet No. 3 by Béla Bartók
was written in September 1926 in Budapest
.
The work is in one continuous stretch with no breaks, but is divided in the score into four parts:
Despite Bartók calling the third section a "recapitulation" it is not a straight repetition of the music from the prima parte, being somewhat varied and simplified. Although not marked as such, the coda is in fact a telescoped recapitulation of the seconda parte.
The mood of the first part is quite bleak, contrasting with the second part which is livelier and provides evidence of the inspiration Bartók's drew from Hungarian folk music
, with dance-like melodies to the fore.
The work is even more harmonically adventurous and contrapuntally complex than Bartók's previous two string quartets and explores a number of extended instrumental techniques, including sul ponticello (playing with the bow
as close as possible to the bridge), col legno
(playing with the wood rather than the hair of the bow), glissandi (sliding from one note to another) and the so-called Bartók pizzicato
(plucking the string so that it rebounds against the instrument's fingerboard).
It has often been suggested that Bartók was inspired to write the piece after hearing a performance of Alban Berg
's Lyric Suite (1926) in 1927. The piece is widely considered to be the most tightly constructed of Bartók's six string quartet
s, the whole deriving from a relatively small amount of thematic material integrated into a single continuous structure. It is also Bartók's shortest quartet, with a typical performance lasting around fifteen minutes.
The work is dedicated to the Musical Society Fund of Philadelphia and was entered into an international competition for chamber music
run by the organisation. It won the $6,000 first prize jointly with a work by Alfredo Casella
. The piece was premiered on February 19, 1929 by the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet.
The piece was first published in 1929 by Universal Edition
.
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
was written in September 1926 in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
.
The work is in one continuous stretch with no breaks, but is divided in the score into four parts:
- Prima parte: Moderato
- Seconda parte: Allegro
- Recapitulazione della prima parte: Moderato
- Coda: Allegro molto
Despite Bartók calling the third section a "recapitulation" it is not a straight repetition of the music from the prima parte, being somewhat varied and simplified. Although not marked as such, the coda is in fact a telescoped recapitulation of the seconda parte.
The mood of the first part is quite bleak, contrasting with the second part which is livelier and provides evidence of the inspiration Bartók's drew from Hungarian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, with dance-like melodies to the fore.
The work is even more harmonically adventurous and contrapuntally complex than Bartók's previous two string quartets and explores a number of extended instrumental techniques, including sul ponticello (playing with the bow
Bow (music)
In music, a bow is moved across some part of a musical instrument, causing vibration which the instrument emits as sound. The vast majority of bows are used with string instruments, although some bows are used with musical saws and other bowed idiophones....
as close as possible to the bridge), col legno
Col legno
In music for bowed string instruments, col legno, or more precisely col legno battuto , is an instruction to strike the string with the stick of the bow, rather than by drawing the hair of the bow across the strings. This results in a quiet but eerie percussive sound.Col legno is used in the final...
(playing with the wood rather than the hair of the bow), glissandi (sliding from one note to another) and the so-called Bartók pizzicato
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
(plucking the string so that it rebounds against the instrument's fingerboard).
It has often been suggested that Bartók was inspired to write the piece after hearing a performance of Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Lyric Suite (1926) in 1927. The piece is widely considered to be the most tightly constructed of Bartók's six 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...
s, the whole deriving from a relatively small amount of thematic material integrated into a single continuous structure. It is also Bartók's shortest quartet, with a typical performance lasting around fifteen minutes.
The work is dedicated to the Musical Society Fund of Philadelphia and was entered into an international competition for 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...
run by the organisation. It won the $6,000 first prize jointly with a work by Alfredo Casella
Alfredo Casella
Alfredo Casella was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor.- Life and career :Casella was born in Turin; his family included many musicians; his grandfather, a friend of Paganini's, was first cello in the San Carlo Theatre in Lisbon and eventually was soloist in the Royal Chapel in Turin...
. The piece was premiered on February 19, 1929 by the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet.
The piece was first published in 1929 by 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...
.