String Quartet 3 Op. 40

Allerheiligentag Iii. Par LINJAMA JYRKI. Jyrki Linjama's second string quartet (2018) is subtitled Allerheiligentag III. The material for the Allerheiligentag cycle is a Finnish folk chorale for All Saints' Day (no. 146 in the Finnish Hymn Book). The first work in the cycle is a string trio (2007), the second a piece for orchestra (2009), and the fourth and fifth are solo works for viola da gamba and violin.The composer tells: “The choice of topic and material for the string trio was originally prompted by the venue at which it was to be premiered: the old church on the island of Seili (Själö). The bleak history of the island's leper and mental hospital evoked images of suffering and death. I got so attached to the harsh and beautiful melody that it began to generate a whole cycle.” The string quartet is in three movements (slow-quick-slow) tensed in different ways by contrasts. The first movement has both swinging softness and cutting sharpness, the Scherzo the wildness of a dance of death and lyricism, and the finale the irrevocability of a funeral march and tender melodiousness./ Répertoire / String Quartet

Par SUK JOSEF. First scholarly-critical edition The single-movement String Quartet #2 by Josef Suk (1874-1935) was written at the height of his compositional powers. Completed in Krecovice in May 1911, this demanding work, with its complex harmonies and motivic structure, seemed avant-garde for its day: the Berlin premiere of November 1912 was accompanied by protests from the audience. Now Zdenek Nouza has edited the first scholarly-critical edition of this piece. The principal source is the first edition in full score, published by Simrock in Berlin. But Nouza has also consulted the printed parts (containing additions of great interest to performers) as well as the engraver's copy used for the printed score (with autograph corrections from the composer) and additional sources such as sketches. - First Urtext edition - Foreword (Cz/Ger/Eng) and Critical Commentary (Eng) by the editor/ Répertoire / Conducteur de Poche

Work dating from 1952-58. Programme note: The spectrum of sound the gesticulation in short the very nature of the strings has always had a central place in my output demonstrated by the numbers of string quartets concertos with string soloist chamber and solo works. The interest dates back to my school years when I was fortunate to be able to compose for a cello-playing schoolmate and to accompany him on the piano. I discovered then the innumerable nuances of sound and playing varieties offered by just one bow four strings and five fingers.. My second string quartet Quartetto Brioso has a firm root in the Nordic traditionand is strongly inspired by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) and my teacher Vagn Holmboe (1909-96). Per Nørgård