String Quartet In D Major (Parts) (SCHOENBERG ARNOLD)

This new scholarly-critical edition of String Quartet Op.127 the first of Beethoven’s late quartets follows upon Urtext publications of Opp.18 59 74 and 95.Once more the editor is the renowned Beethoven authority Jonathan Del Mar. All surviving sources have been consulted including sketches to clarify the conflicting readings in the autograph. Not only has Del Mar reconstructed Beethoven’s original beaming phrasing articulation and length of crescendo hairpins he has also corrected wrong notes that have taken hold in editions published over the years and has supplemented missing notes.Urtext edition at the cutting edge ofscholarship with detailed separate Critical Commentary (Eng)Parts ideally laid out for performance purposesParts (BA9029) & study score format 22.5 x 16.5cm (TP929) available for saleAlready published: String Quartets Op.18 BA 9016 parts TP 916 study scoreString Quartets Op.59 BA 9017 parts TP 917 study scoreString Quartets Opp.74 95 BA 9018 parts TP 918 study score

Schubert only took ten days to write his String Quartet in G major one of his truly monumental chamber music works. With its almost symphonic dimensions this late quartet is reminiscent of his greatString Quintet in C major. As divulged in a letter Schubert actually wanted to 'pave the way for the large symphony' with this quartet and several other chamber music works that he composed around the same time. Writtenin 1826 the quartet was not performed in public during the composer’s lifetime; and it was only published long after his death. This Urtext edition with its accompanying study edition is therefore based on the survivingautograph.

Though conceived as four separate movements my second string quartet has a single motif which is common to them all. This is the three-note 'Muss es sein?' from Beethoven's last quartet Op. 135. But whereas Beethoven's theme is notated G E A flat thus giving it an F minor connotation I have sued an alternative spelling - G E G sharp - which suggests an ambiguous E minor-major. This ambiguity in fact becomes the tonal basis of the whole work only to be resolved at the end of the final movement.Each movement begins with a variant of the basic motif on the cello. The first has the original form of the theme while the second has a 'majorised' version which is alsoexpressed as a chord. The third movement with its 'scherzoid' middle section reverts to the major-minor ambiguity of the first and the finale begins with the 'majorised' version as an ostinato accompaniment on pizzicato cello.The slow movement is sub-titled 'In memoriam DSCH' and concludes with a quotation of Shostakovich's motto - D E flat C B - which is basically the same as Beethoven's with the addition of one note.This is not to imply that the work contains no other thematic material. One important theme a rising fifth and a second is also common to three of the movements and is ultimately derived from my first quartet Op. 1 of 27 years earlier to which this second contribution to the form is in many ways like a sequel. Like the earlier work too this quartet is dedicated to my wife.