String Quartet (Bruckner)

History#

In the spring of 1862, during his tuition by Otto Kitzler, Bruckner composed two scherzi for string quartet in F major and G minor. Thereafter, between 28 July and 7 August 1862, he composed the String Quartet in C minor, On reviewing Bruckner’s work one week later (15 August 1862), Kitzler was perhaps dissatisfied with Bruckner’s unconventionality of the first rondo. He therefore suggested that a rondo The 40-bars longer piece, which has the same key, metre and formal structure as the first rondo, can, therefore, be regarded as an alternative to the first rondo. The Quartet was not issued during Bruckner’s life, since it concerned only a sample of what he was capable of during his period of study with Kitzler. A recording from the archive of the NDR is available in the Bruckner Archive.

Edition#

The String Quartet was edited by Nowak in Band XIII/1 of the in 1955.

Setting#

The piece is a conventional string quartet in the usual four movements: Duration: 19 to 24 minutes. Unlike his later works, Bruckner gave few indications as to phrasing, while dynamics appear only at a few key points. Rudolf Koeckert allowed Leopold Nowak to put his group’s phrasing and dynamics into the Gesamtausgabe parts. However, the Gesamtausgabe score contains only those markings in Bruckner’s hand. The String Quartet is a settlement with classical and early romantic examples. The from the beginning polyphonic imprint refers back to Bruckner’s earlier exercises. The first movement, in traditional sonata form, is with audacious modulations in the development. The Andante, in three parts (ABA) with modified reprise, The trio of the scherzo is in Ländler form. One can already see connections to later Bruckner works in the key (C minor), in several harmonic phrases and theme patterns, as well as the use of Ländler motives.

Selected discography#

There are about 10 recordings of the String Quartet. The live-performance by the Koeckert Quartet (9 March 1951) is, from the archive of the NDR, released on CD 2 of Music from the Archives, Volume 1, SOMM recordings ARIADNE 5025-2 (15 March 2024). Excellent recordings are according to Hans Roelofs i.a. those by the Koeckert Quartett (1974), L’Archibudelli, the Fine Arts Quartet and the Zehetmair Streichquartett. Where the Koeckert Quartet actually disregarded the few dynamics markings Bruckner gave, the Fine Arts Quartet obeys Bruckner’s markings but mostly ignores Koeckert’s. * Keller Quartett, LP: Da Camera magna SM 92707/8, 1962 * Koeckert Quartett. Studio recording of 1974 put on compiling CD: Karna Musik Live KA-143M * L’Archibudelli. Anton Bruckner: String Quintet. Intermezzo. Rondo. String Quartet. CD: Sony Classical Vivarte SK 66 251, 1995 - on historical instruments * Leipziger Streichquartett. Bruckner - Streichquintett F major / Streichquartett C minor – CD: MDG Gold 307 1297-2, 2004 * Fine Arts Quartet. BRUCKNER: String Quintet in F Major / String Quartet in C Minor. CD: Naxos 8.570788, 2008 * Zehetmair Streichquartett. Beethoven, Bruckner, Hartmann, Holliger. CD: ECM 2195/96, 2010 * Fitzwilliam Quartet. Anton Bruckner: String Quintet / String Quartet. CD: Linn LC 11615, 2011 - on historical instruments * Quatuor Diotima. Bruckner & Klose String Quartets, Pentatone LC 868, 2024 – with the first recording of the Theme and Variations for String Quartet, WAB 210

Sources#

• Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke: Band XIII/1: Streichquartett c-Moll Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag der Internationalen Bruckner-Gesellschaft, Leopold Nowak (Editor), Vienna, 1955
• Uwe Harten, Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch, , Salzburg, 1996,
• Derek Watson, “Bruckner”, Schirmer, New York, 1996
• Benjamin Korstvedt, “Aspects of Bruckner’s approach to symphonic form”, The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner edited by John Williamson, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004
• Cornelis van Zwol, Anton Bruckner – Leven en Werken, Thot, Bussum (Netherlands), 2012.
• William Carragan. Anton Bruckner - Eleven Symphonies. Bruckner Society of America, Windsor CT, 2020, .

External links#

• Streichquartett c-Moll, WAB 111 Critical discography by Hans Roelofs
• Bruckner’s Critical Complete Edition - Chamber Music
• Bruckner’s Critical Complete Edition - Early Orchestral and Instrumental Works
• The following live performance can be heard on YouTube:
• the Filarmonica-quartet (Novosibirsk, 2013): Bruckner’s String Quartet de:Kammermusik (Bruckner)#Frühe Kammermusik