Reinhold Glière - String Quartet No. 2, Op. 20 (1905)

[@StarriSprinkles]

VIOLA MINI SOLO ON THE FIRST MOVEMENT AYY

[@tomboyer5608]

Thank you for posting this!! Gliere was a late Russian romatic writing well into the 20th century, so he was eclipsed by the likes of Shostakovich and Prokofiev (the latter studied with Gliere at the Moscow conservatory). Like Rachmaninov, another late Russian romantic, Gliere got no respect from modernists who dominated music criticism in the west, and the fact that Stalin liked Gliere probably didn't help Gliere's case. But this is first-rate music. If you like Tchaikovsky, Borodin and Rimsky-Korsakov, you'll like Gliere. Gliere's chamber music is wonderfully written. It's a challenging sight-read but high-quality readers should be able to give this a credible read on the first look. The violin parts are certainly challenging but not as tough as Tchaikovsky -- they don't require virtuoso skills to perform.

[@santiagosebastiansuarez]

such beatuiful composition, very well performed.

[@ezequielstepanenko3229]

The second movement is so melancholic and yet uplifting

[@joshuaharper372]

Thank you for introducing me to these first two quartets by Glière! Amazing music, and suddenly in my top few favorite quartets.

[@AndrewSmith-hi1fe]

What a magnificent piece!Thank you so much.

[@paulprocopolis]

Ravishingly beautiful slow movement!

[@TheodoreServin]

What a magnificent first movement! It's perfect music! I'm looking forward to the rest of Glière's quartets!

[@TheodoreServin]

@@bartjebartmans The third one is with the Bolshoi Quartet, but the 4th one is with the Beethoven Quartet.

[@bartjebartmans]

Thanks. I got it! Will be working on those to be complete. Nice, next to complete Glazunov and Shostakovich quartets I did already. Milhaud still many to go. Villa Lobos only 13, 14, 15 and 17 to go.

[@TheodoreServin]

@@bartjebartmans You're very welcome! Also, just in case you need it, I wrote a description of the 4th quartet, since I saw that Edition Silvertrust didn't have one for this piece. "Reinhold Glière's String Quartet No. 4 in F minor was composed in 1943, 16 years after his 3rd quartet in D minor, and well into the Second World War. It was dedicated to the Beethoven Quartet, the famous Soviet ensemble, and it was awarded a Stalin prize in 1948 (he won 3 Stalin Prizes in his lifetime). It is a deeply romantic work, reminiscent of the 2nd quartet in G minor in terms of character and polyphonic texture; however, this quartet has more agitation and drama than the 2nd, and provides for an intense listening experience. The opening movement, Allegro moderato, begins with a melancholic and Russian-sounding theme, which quickly becomes agitated. Soon after, a second, lyrical theme appears in D-flat major. The development is filled with intense but clear polyphony, leading to a very satisfying recapitulation; movement ends with a short, but ominous coda based on the first theme. The second movement, a Vivace in B-flat major, is also very Russian in character, in a pleasant 3/8 meter. The trio in D major in a 2/8 meter has a similar character, but with muted strings, and interspersed with more lyrical lines. The third movement, an Andante in D minor, is a deeply elegiac one, and is set as a theme with 10 variations. At times tragic, other times light, and still other times deeply tender, this movement is a truly gorgeous work of art. The finale, an Allegro, begins with an intense and pointed fugato, before introducing a beautiful and heartfelt second theme. The piece is then transits into a dramatic and at times dissonant development, filled with fugue-like moments. The quartet ends with a vigorous and devilish coda, with fast-paced harmonic changes and sharp chords. As with all of Glière's string quartets, the 4th is an extremely well-crafted work, deeply rooted in Russian romanticism, with a very human and deeply felt character, and it takes the listener on a beautiful and emotional roller-coaster. It is a masterpiece of late romantic chamber music, a relic from another world which managed to find itself in mid-twentieth-century Soviet Russia, and it deserves to be frequently performed by modern string quartet ensembles."

[@steveegallo3384]

@@TheodoreServin -- Erudite commentary! Please recommend your favorite Fourths. Thanks...from San Agustinillo, Oaxaca !

[@mieszqzablocky2281]

4th movement reminds me of grieg's quartet

[@levandornis6568]

Poor second violin in the last movement... :D

[@lyubovkuchar2845]

Супер музика! Чому не виконується??(((

[@jimmywalsh6701]

👏

[@jagonalpa]

Inefable, etéreo.

[@splatproductions99]

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