Arnold Schoenberg [1874–1951] wrote four mature string quartets. They were composed over a period of 32 years and you can hear the changing musical approaches as he moved from a basic Romantic style, through to a dissonant and finally atonal, approach. Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 have no key signatures assigned.

This piece is one of my favourite string quartets. To me, it defines an era. Schoenberg stipulated that there were to be no breaks between its four movements. The opening theme has an urgency that propels the music forward. I love it. The intensity is maintained with a recapitulation, culminating in a brilliant descending violin phrase. Another recapitulation brings a deconstruction of the theme. A brief pause allows for a gentle passage, very melodic and pleasing. This continues for some time. Eventually the mood is enlivened and we hear a hint of a previous phrase. Now the mood becomes almost pastoral, as the violins spin out Romantic melodies. They can be quite pleading at times. A very gentle passage ensues, with the first violin almost precious, with supportive statements from the second violin. A quivering violin leads into a period of abstraction. A slightly burlesque mood follows, before we return to a previous theme. The violins again become precious, and the mood is sensitive. Nearing the end, an earlier phrase is repeated, and the violins complete the movement.

The next movement comes in immediately, and is very light in texture. The piece proceeds at a gentle, but busy pace and violin melodic lines dominate. A hint of dissonance leads into some harmonised melodies. Now a very gentle mood ensues with a touch of pizzicato amongst a delicate texture. Alluring melodic lines are quite captivating, very Brahmsian. A slow tempo appears, with violin murmurings over a prominent cello. The energy returns in a jaunty manner, and a measured chaos unfolds. Now a lamenting violin, reminiscent of the first movement, takes the lead role and the opening theme is quoted verbatim. This theme is varied after a time and a solo cello interlude leads to a conclusion.

The third movement, marked langsam, opens with a sparse, searching, lone violin. There is no tempo here, as a second violin and eventually, the ensemble, can be heard. There are sporadic periods of solo violin, and periods with minimal accompaniment. A previously heard melody is repeated, but the texture remains melancholy throughout. The feeling is one of sparse atonality and is quite beguiling. The violin slowly gathers momentum and the ensemble go with it. To me, there is a sense of romantic longing in this passage as it develops. A sustained tone leads into a period of quivering violin, no notes can be distinguished. Now the longing continues, this time with more prominent harmonised lines, as another theme is revisited. The ending is abrupt. In fact, you don’t notice it as it moves straight into the next movement.

Measured, gentle melodies introduce the final movement. A busy passage ensues and the melodies become more complex, and almost obtuse. There are plenty of melodies but no obvious development. A shimmering violin interlude is pure sound and it eventually morphs into another melancholic passage. I still hear a longing present. Now the violins combine to produce a thoughtful passage with warm melodic lines, leading to sustained tones to conclude the work.

This quartet drifts between passages of blatant Romanticism with charming melodies, contrasted with dark, dissonant angular sections of deep abstraction; a pointer to his later works. There are several thematic sections that are reintroduced in different movements, sometimes with a modified harmonic background. To me, the overall mood of the piece is a journey, constantly moving between light and dark places. For some listeners, this may be a slightly difficult piece. But hey, you’ll never know if you don’t give it a try.

Recommending performances is a little difficult. I have three versions, all of which are in box sets. The LaSalle String Quartet 4-CD box on Deutsche Grammophon is probably my first choice. This also contains the string quartet works of Berg and Webern, Schoenberg’s students. If you can find the version with the 200-page booklet, all the better – it’s a fascinating insight into the era – I have read it several times. The Schoenberg Quartet have a 6-CD set containing all of Schoenberg’s chamber music. Their version is a little lighter than the La Salle’s. As I enjoy historical performances I find that the Juilliard String Quartet Early Works 1948-52 5-CD set is also a worthwhile candidate. They take the piece at a faster tempo than the others and this makes for an interesting, contrasting performance. I used this version for the review.

Many other versions are available on Amazon US and UK. A version on Naxos, performed by the Fred Sherry String Quartet, also contains the composer’s wonderful string sextet Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night). It sounds like a great introduction to Schoenberg.

The Naxos disc is on Spotify and several versions of the work are on YouTube, with eight recordings to be found on earsense.

Listenability: Dissonant at times but many fine moments.