Format : Set of Parts
Janá ek s 2nd String Quartet Intimate Letters is regarded as a highlight of the modern string quartet literature. It was written during the composer s last year of life between 29 January and 19 February 1928 inspired by the ageing Janáèek s exceptional love for Kamila Stösslová. The Moravian Quartet devoted themselves to this impressive work; Janá ek attended a total of three of their rehearsals in May and June 1928. This had several consequences including his abandoning his original idea of using a viola d amore. After Janá ek s unexpected death (12 August 1928) the uncertain genesis of the work became the greatest problem of the IntimateLetters : the surviving copies were not definitively authorised. The editors of this new edition have reverted to Janá ek s autograph sketches as the main most reliable source and using these as a basis have reconstructed the work as it stood at the point of Janá ek s death. The musical text taken from the Critical Complete Edition of the Works of Leo Janá ek (Vol. E/4) therefore contains clear differences in comparison with older editions.
