Progetto Martha Argerich

italiano

Works

Robert Schumann

Quartetto in A Major No. 3, Op. 41

 

Schumann began to approach chamber music following a long period – over a decade – that had been dedicated entirely to the piano and to Lieder. First came the three String quartets, Op. 41, composed in 1842 and dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn; in them, Schumann found himself confronting the same structural problems that he had already faced in the piano sonatas and for which he had not found altogether satisfactory solutions. The Quartet in A Major – third and last of the Op. 41 group – is in a traditional, four-movement form, beginning with an autumnal, highly introspective Andante espressivo – Allegro molto moderato. The second movement, Assai agitato, carries out the usual functions of a Scherzo, but its form is that of a theme with four variations and a coda. The intense Adagio molto – which may be the finest and most successful movement in the whole work – is nobly solemn in tone. The Quartet in A Major ends with a thick-textured Allegro molto vivace dominated by the urgent dotted rhythms that were so dear to the composer.

listen to Real Media recording

1. Andante espressivo: Allegro molto moderato
2. Assai agitato
3. Adagio molto
4. Finale: Allegro molto vivace

Performers

  • Arcadia String Quartet, Ensemble
  • Ana Bogatila, violin
  • Rasvan Dumitru, violin
  • Traian Boala, viola
  • Zsolt Török, cello

Performance