String Quartet No. 2 (Bartók)
Encyclopedia
The String Quartet No. 2 by Béla Bartók
was written between 1915 and October 1917 in Rákoskeresztúr
in Hungary
.
The work is in three movements:
In a letter to André Gertier, Bartók described the first movement as being in sonata form
, the second as "a kind of rondo
" and the third as "difficult to define" but possibly a sort of ternary form
.
The work is influenced by Debussy. It was dedicated to the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, and it was they who gave the piece its premiere on 3 March 1918 in Budapest
. The work was first published in 1920 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 between 1915 and October 1917 in Rákoskeresztúr
Rákoskeresztúr
Rákoskeresztúr is a former town in Hungary now part of District XVII of Budapest. Rákoskeresztúr was united with Budapest on January 1, 1950....
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
.
The work is in three movements:
- Moderato
- Allegro molto capriccioso
- Lento
In a letter to André Gertier, Bartók described the first movement as being in sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
, the second as "a kind of rondo
Rondo
Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
" and the third as "difficult to define" but possibly a sort of ternary form
Ternary form
Ternary 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...
.
The work is influenced by Debussy. It was dedicated to the Waldbauer-Kerpely Quartet, and it was they who gave the piece its premiere on 3 March 1918 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 was first published in 1920 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...
.
External links
- Performance by the Borromeo String QuartetBorromeo String QuartetThe Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber music series...
from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format