Ernest Bloch: String Quartet No. 3: String Quartet: Instrumental Work

Study Score No. 63-Bloch was 73 years old when the String Quartet No. 3 was premiered in 1953 by the Griller Quartet. It is far more 'pared-down' than his earlier works and avoids the influence of Jewish music which he was well-known for in works such as 'Schelomo' and the 'Suite Hebraique for viola'. The first movement is forceful; trills and stark rhythms predominate whereas the second is more tranquil. Next there is is a strange kind of off-kilter scherzo followed by a finale based on a 12-tone theme. This is the Schirmer edition of the Score.

Score-Of almost any of the works of Bloch's maturity the 'Sinfonia Breve' has the least amount of Jewish ‘flavour’. In 1952 when this piece was written Bloch was exploring some other vocabularies rather than the one that is most often identified with him. His flirtation with (twelve-tone techniques still sounds like Bloch. The title of the work indicates a more formal structure than many of his more poetic creations. It does follow the classical four movement pattern and Bloch links them by utilizing appropriately transformed thematic material. The first movement commences with an important thrusting theme. The second movement is meditative and quite beautiful. Thestring section dominates and Bloch exhibits the same mastery of counterpoint that one finds in his string quartets. The Scherzo begins with an off-beat major 7th figure. The first trio is a slower lyrical contrast. The second trio has the most exotic writing of the whole Sinfonia. The finale recalls much of the important material from the previous movements. This grand summation ends calmly.

Score-A masterly composer of music for strings Bloch wrote four string quartets Schelomo--A Hebrew Rhapsody (for cello and orchestra) and A Voice in the Wilderness (for orchestra and cello obbligato) which are deeply emotional works and rank among the most distinguished achievements in the neo-classic and neo-romantic idiom of early 20th-century music.