Alexander Glazunov - String Quartet No. 4, Op. 64 (1894)

[@George-i3x]

What an abundance of energy,melodic beauty and joy.

[@TheNewFlutist]

Glazunov wrote this to get it published in 1894, but for whatever reason it was denied, and so he shelved it for 2 years. Then one day he played the opening bars on the piano for his mentor Stasov (you see his name as dedicatee on the top title), who exclaimed, "What a cry of despair! What happened to you?" considering Glazunov was mainly known for his calm but sunny personality. Glazunov replied he was inspired by "gloomy thoughts" to write this quartet (note that he was gloomy even before getting rejected by the publishers, a double hit). Of course, he wouldn't say what exactly. He rarely spoke of his inspirations, as musicologists are well aware of. A frustratingly silent, private composer. Perhaps this has harmed his reputation in the long run, since we can't pinpoint him as a Beethovenian tragic hero, a Straussian egoist, a Prokofievian Enfante Terrible, or any other similar label. What then shall we call a man who wants no one to know what's on his mind, but only to hear these sounds presented to us? Gathering from what I have learned over the years of research, perhaps this is *exactly* how to characterize his entire output: music born from a tumultuous, yet lonely silence. Maybe that explains why he enigmatically described his Symphony no. 5 from 1895 as "silenced sounds."

[@potrelviewer9536]

Maybe he wrote it as he was reminiscing of Tchaikovsky's recent passing...

[@fransmeersman2334]

In my opinion belongs Glazoenov in the row of the great string quartet composers. Beautiful and fascinating music.

[@tconroymusic]

Masterclass in string composition.

[@fulviopolce9785]

Sto scoprendo che i quartetto di Glazunov sono qualitativamente migliori di quelli più decantati di Dvorak.... Questo è un gioiello. Una capacità stilistica non comune.I suoi quartetto sono stati abbondantemente ignorati e solo recentemente scoperto il loro valore. Un grazie sentito a Bartje.

[@philipthonemann2524]

Hullo! I am preparing this to play with a group of amateurs, and your video is, once again, tremendously helpful! Many thanks for what you do! Philip Thonemann

[@DPCR00]

3:20 Magic :)

[@johnstag1391]

Exquisite