Performers
- String Quartet Hermès
- Jordan Victoria I violin
- Elise Liu II violin
- Lou Yung-Hsin Chang viola
- Yan Levionnois cello
Programme
Antonín Dvořák String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, American [25’]
I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Lento
III. Molto vivace
IV. Finale: vivace ma non troppo
Leonard Bernstein Music for String Quartet [12’]
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante (Tempo di Sarabande)
Concert description
In what rhythm does America’s heart beat? What melody does it sing? For Antonín Dvořák, who absorbed it with all his senses while vacationing in Spillville in 1893, it was primarily the melodies and rhythms of the continent’s indigenous folklore. The author of the Symphony From the New World was enthralled by the space of the vast prairies and the freedom-giving landscape, which, along with the memory of the ethnic music sound, he wanted to include in his works. That is why the entirety of String Quartet in F major is permeated by a folk element. This can be heard especially in the wistful melody of the second movement or the imitations of bird voices in the third movement.
Leonard Bernstein, meanwhile, listened to the distinctly different sounds of the city’s nightlife, and – there’s no doubt about it – his America pulsates to the rhythm of the blues. The narrative of the piece’s first link flows briskly, changing as if in a kaleidoscope, but with freely recurring jazzy motifs and harmonies, while in the second the atmosphere thickens in more intense dark colors and nostalgic sarabande rhythm.
– Karolina Dąbek (pisanezesluchu.pl)