String Quartet No. 1 (Rózsa)
The String Quartet No. 1 (op. 22) is one of two string quartets by the Hungarian composer Miklós Rózsa .
Origin, structure and style
Rózsa composed the work in 1950 while he was working on the music for the classic monumental film Quo vadis? worked. He saw the work as a musical change from the pompous, epic character of the film music to be written. He had become internationally known for his two Oscar - winning film scores at the time , while his composition repertoire apart from film remained relatively unknown and, due to its largely classical-academic structures, is not considered original.
In contrast, his first string quartet is one of his most remarkable compositions of classical genres. The work shows a partly virtuoso harmony with interesting twists and is influenced by the tonal worlds of Hungarian folk music, in particular the outstanding string quartets of Béla Bartók . You can also hear echoes of Impressionist works such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel , who also performed important string quartets, but whose sophisticated structure and melodic sophistication the work does not come close to. The sheet music was published by Breitkopf & Härtel , the piece has been performed and recorded several times to this day. The sentence names are:
- Andante Con Moto
- Scherzo. In Modo Ongarese
- Lento
- Allegro Feroce
Others
Rózsa dedicated the string quartet to the actor Peter Ustinov , with whom he was in frequent contact during the filming in Italy, but also because of Ustinov's pronounced musical streak. Rózsa's second string quartet was published in 1981.
literature
- Christopher Palmer: Miklós Rózsa. A Sketch Of His Life And Work. With a foreword by Eugene Ormandy . Breitkopf & Härtel, London-Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 3-7651-0084-6
- Double life. The Autobiography of Miklos Rozsa, Composer in the Golden Years of Hollywood. Seven Hills Books 1982/1989, ISBN 0-85936-209-4 .