Presented by Leo Samama.
Othmar Schoeck (1886-1957) – Second String quartet, in C major, opus 37 (1923)
- Scherzo, 4. Lento, 5. Presto
Performers: Minguet Quartet
CD: MDG
Franz Schmidt (1874-1939) – String quartet in A major (1925)
- Anmutig bewegt, 2. Adagio, 3. Scherzo, Sehr lebhaft, 4. Ruhig fliessend
Performers: Franz Schubert Quartett
CD: Nimbus
The Second string quartet by Schoeck is equally playful as it is contemporary. Even though Schoeck chose tonal music over atonal music and expressionism wasn’t really his cup of tea.
The opus magnum of this episode is Franz Schmidt’s First string quartet in A major. Similar to the quartet in G major, which he finished four years later, this composition matches the big nineteenth century tradition of Beethoven, Brahms and Bruckner. With widely spaced-out structures and grand dramatic arcs of tension. This is the music that dreams of a past which was already gone.
