Danish Early Modern composer Paul August von Klenau [1883–1946] wrote three string quartets. He fell under the spell of Schoenberg and the Second Quartet was written in 1942. It is in four movements.
The work opens in an atonal manner, but with great melodic purpose. It then settles for a moment before returning to re-examine the opening material. A quiet passage gives way to a stronger section, with a powerful cello presence. I am loving these quiet atonal soundscapes, punctuated with louder interludes. The violins express wonderfully, and there are many noticeable pauses to be heard. One such pause leads into a tempestuous, ascending passage, which then drops back to an almost inaudible violin section. There is a strength in this music that is quite fetching, even through the various sets of mood that are presented. The end is rather surprising, with some powerful violin flourishes.
The next, andante movement is very peaceful, lamenting even as the ensemble whisper their way through an opening, leading to a marvellous harmonised descending melodic phrase. Now a lone violin expresses a further lament, and the ensemble gather strength behind it. A sense of rhythm is established by pulsing ensemble textures, this time ascending, but all the while staying very much in control. A solo cello line moves into a sustained tone as a violin drifts across the landscape. This movement is an exercise in sparsity, and very beautiful as well. The mild dissonance presented by the first violin pleads to be heard above the ever-changing background. A shimmering section is magical and leads to a quiet series of two alternating chords, which fade into nothingness. This is a fabulous movement.
The third, allegro movement brings the first use of pizzicato heard thus far. There is a tempo here, although the ensemble is remarkably restrained. A series of ensemble pronouncements are filled with character. A pause leads to a toned down muttering feeling, although the harmonies are still strong. A powerful, triplet-based passage brings about an end.
Strong violin assertions open the finale, but the music soon moves into a prancing nature, with all instruments contributing to the feeling. The violins are busy, but never seem confronting – this is indeed a gentle atonality. A symphonic sounding section, albeit played quietly, concludes the work.
All three string quartets are very appealing to me. I guess I would class them as measured modernity, even though they were all written in the first half of the 20th century. The slow movements in particular, have a wonderful mysterious sound.
The review CD, String Quartets 1 2 & 3 performed by the Sjelland String Quartet on the DaCapo label is available from Amazon US.
All three works are on Spotify, earsense and YouTube.
Listenability: Modern works with fine slow movements.
Wow, thanks for this recommendation John. Listening now.