HILDING ROSENBERG – String Quartet No. 1

Hilding Rosenberg [1892–1985] was a Swedish composer who wrote fifteen string quartets. The first, written in 1920, was premiered in 1923. Rosenberg was definitely looking to express himself in a Modern fashion. At the time, he had fallen under the spell of Schoenberg. The reaction to the performance was extraordinarily negative. The local press had a field day, one paper apparently stating that the music ‘sounded like a chaotic and horrifying vision, a vision, indeed, of a mentally deranged person!‘ As a result, the composer withdrew it and did not return to it again for over 30 years, when he revised it in 1955. It was then performed in 1956 for Swedish National Radio.

This piece has one of the most uplifting openings I have heard.   The opening movement, which lasts for seven minutes, begins in a light, joyful manner, offering nothing that would point to the style of its later movements. It then moves into a lament. The chords hang like tapestries, in a manner similar to some of Charles Ives’ work. It’s as if you could reach out and touch them, they are so close and shimmering. Then the tempo quickens and slightly dissonant melodies begin to reappear. They come in cascades. Then, in a flash it’s all over!

The second movement marked andante starts with a very slow fugue. It is nearly one minute before all four instruments have made their entry. This is a wonderfully melancholic section. Slowly the tempo picks up and the cello dominates for a while, then it’s back to the first violin. Following are more of those hanging chords, though their texture makes them a little farther away this time. They eventually fade into nothing.

The third and fourth movements are played without a pause. They begin with a lively mood, the cello being very prominent. As it builds I believe I hear a quote from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite (I’ll have to listen to it so I can place it). As the tempo drops for a short time, there are folk-like melodies. More rhythm, then less, then more again. The fugue theme from the previous movement comes back played in double-time. Vigorous statements continue until, like the first movement, it just stops!

This is a lovely first quartet, full of wonderful melodies and sparkling rhythms. It makes me wonder what all the fuss was about in 1923.

The recording I have is on the Caprice label, and also includes quartets 6 & 12 which are a lot more modern, with some wonderful slow sections, together with some slightly dissonant passages. Each quartet is played by a different ensemble.

Caprice issued Rosenberg’s Complete Quartets as a 5-CD pack, but I was never able to obtain it. The five individual discs are still available separately but I don’t think they will be around for much longer. When stocks run out…

I just had a quick look at Spotify and they have three of the CDs, but not this one. There are many Rosenberg quartets on earsense and the first quartet is available on YouTube.

Listenability:  Sounds good to me.

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