String Quartet No.1, (H. 117) (the French Quartet), is a chamber composition by the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

composer

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He bec ...

Background

Martinů was strongly drawn to the

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

form from his childhood. He composed his first quartet, based on the poem ''Tři jezdci'' by Czech poet

Jaroslav Vrchlický Jaroslav Vrchlický (; 17 February 1853 – 9 September 1912) was a Czech lyrical poet. He was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature eight times. Life He was born Emilius Jakob Frida in Louny. He lived ten years with his uncle, a p ...

, at the age of eight. However, Martinů's juvenile works remain forgotten, are now archive material, and it is difficult to reconstruct them. Martinů made his first step into the world of quartet writing with his ''"French Quartet"''. The work was composed in

Polička Polička (; german: Politschka) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,700 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Administrat ...

in 1918. In 1925 Martinů intended to have the composition performed in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, with the Ševčík Quartet. However, the quartet was not premièred until 1927 in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Structure

The composition consists of four

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

: *1. Moderato. Allegro ma non troppo *2. Andante moderato *3. Allegro non troppo *4. Allegro The ''French Quartet'', named for the work's Impressionist mood, is influenced by the works of

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

. It is the longest of all Martinů quartets. His typical individual style is not yet apparent, but the quartet contains the unquestionable quality and counts among the interesting examples of the composer's early chamber works.Sleeve note of the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

recording (SU 3917-2), p. 5 The approximate duration of the work is 36 minutes.

Notes

References

*Martinů. String Quartets. Complete recording.

Panocha Quartet The Panocha Quartet ( cs, Panochovo kvarteto) is a Czech string quartet. History The Panocha Quartet was formed at the Prague Conservatory in 1968 from a trio consisting of Jiří Panocha (violin), Jaroslav Hlůže (viola), and Jaroslav Kulhan ( ...

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(sleeve note)

External links

Info on musicweb-international.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:String Quartet No. 1 (Martinu) Compositions by Bohuslav Martinů Martinu 01 1918 compositions