Spiegel Strijkkwartet

This program of the Spiegel String Quartet is a rather atypical introduction to the 20th Century quartet repertory. We are used to perceiving the string quartet as one of the most abstract forms of music. Was this not the laboratory for all kinds of compositional experiments since the 18th Century? Anton von Webern (1883-1945) in any case, was a great transformer of the venerable musical system. However, is his music really as abstract, as one is always led to believe? Surely not in the 'Langsamer Satz' from 1905, a work that seems much closer to Brahms, than to Schönberg. It has a pronounced polyphonic structure that actually owes a lot to Renaissance polyphony. The Sixth and last Quartet of Béla Bartók (1881-1945) undoubtedly had a key function in 20th Century music. It seems somewhat out of character for the composer. In contrast to his earlier quartets, it evokes deeper and simpler emotions, while being forebodingly pessimistic in spirit. The 'Kreutzersonate' by Leos Janácek (1854-1928) is outright programme music: it articulates Janácek's protest against Tolstoï's reactionary views on marriage and the role of the woman, as conveyed in Tolstoï's novella with the same title.