Notes for: July 21, 2009
Arriaga’s shortened life is one of the saddest stories in western music. He was born in Bilbao, Spain, into a Basque family where his father, a harpsichordist and organist was his first teacher. Musically precocious, he composed his first work, a concert overture, at the age of 11, and his first opera was performed in Bilbao when he was 14. While in his mid-teens, Cherubini heard his music in Paris, and arranged his admission to the Paris Conservatoire. There at 17, he won the second prize in counterpoint and fugue, and at 18 was promoted to tutor other students in composition.
Due to his youthful talent and the fact that he was born on the 50th anniversary of Mozart’s birthday (January 26), Arriaga was hailed by his colleagues as “the Spanish Mozart.” At 18 he seemed to confirm this epithet with the composition of three fully mature string quartets and their publication under the title Premier Livre de Quatours, suggesting that there was more to come. But, as things turned out this was be his sole lifetime publication. The following year he contracted tuberculosis, and died 10 days short of his 20th birthday.
The mourning of French musicians and critics was of short duration. His works were forgotten for several generations until their rediscovery at the end of the 19th century as part of the growth of national musical consciousness in Spain. A monument was unveiled in Bilbao, and the city’s opera theater was named in his honor. Finally, in recent years, there has been a revival of interest in his music outside Spain, with the recording of 14 of his works, including his three string quartets.
In musical terms, Arriaga’s three teen-age quartets were transitional works between the classicism of Mozart and the romantic music of, say, Schubert or Mendelssohn. On the one hand, there is its unforced flow of melody, innovative handling of accompaniment, interest in chromaticism, and third- movement use of a minuet instead of a scherzo. On the other, there are the bold harmonic structures, the unconventional rhythms, and the music’s heightened expressive range.
The first quartet, which we hear this evening, is perhaps the most striking of the set because of the dips into Spanish idioms in all four movements.
In the opening Allegro, the first theme, while not particularly Spanish, is dark and forceful and played in unison to create a powerful effect. It is with the captivating second theme, introduced by the first violin, that we initially hear Spanish melody.
The second movement, Adagio con espressione, is an intricate song for the first violin in Spanish rhythm. The opening theme is tender and expressive, while the middle section is full of pathos.
The third movement, Minuetto, is more or less traditional. However, the trio section presents a formal 18th century Spanish dance, perhaps a precursor of a modern day flamenco dance with guitar-like pizzicato effects.
The finale, Adagio-Allegretto, has a slow introduction leading into a second and longer excursion into Spanish dance rhythms.