String Quartet No. 2 (Prokofiev)
The String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 92 on Cabardian themes is a chamber music work by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev from 1941.
Prokofiev wrote the String Quartet No. 2 during his war-related stay in Nalchik , the capital of the Kabardian Republic in the North Caucasus , which is why it is also called the Kabardian String Quartet . At this time Prokofiev dealt with the music of the region and tried to penetrate the folk art of the Cabardians with the 2nd string quartet; “This is why op. 92 is shaped by non-western intervalism, the rhythms and phrasing of Cabardian music. Nevertheless, Prokofiev designed these themes [...] using western tonality and the sonata form in order to convey the folkloric song and dance melodies of the region. ”Prokofiev wrote:
- "It seemed to me that a combination of new, untouched Eastern folklore with the most classical of all classical forms, as represented by the string quartet , could produce interesting and surprising results."
In some passages of the 2nd string quartet, popular Caucasian string instruments are imitated by means of sound effects; “This happens, for example, by means of open intervals (mostly fifths ), repetitions, special turns, constant rhythmic stresses,” which sometimes structure the “primitive and raw character of the music”. The timbres of percussion instruments are achieved by tapping dry pizzicati and by playing col legno . The three movements of the string quartet are executed according to the classic formula Allegro sostenuto - Adagio - Allegro .
Prokofiev was inspired to this composition by the recording of songs of the Kabardines by SI Taneyev; The work was completed after the composer was again evacuated in Tbilisi , where he arrived on January 25, 1941, via Baku. On December 15, 1941 Prokofiev finished the string quartet; the premiere on September 5, 1942 with the state Beethoven Quartet had to be postponed due to the chaos of the war. However, the work was unreservedly recognized by music critics.