Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901): String Quartet in E Minor

Giuseppe Verdi

(1813-1901)

 

 

String Quartet in E Minor

 

Pina Carmirelli - Violin
Endre Granat - Violin
Martha Strongin Katz - Viola
Ronald Leonard - Cello
1969

 

1.Allegro 0:00
2.Andantino 7:45
3.Prestissimo 16:07
4.Scherzo fuga. Alegro assai mosso 18:56

 

Giuseppe Verdi's String Quartet in E minor was written in the spring of 1873 during

a production of Aida in Naples. It is the only surviving chamber music work in Verdi's catalogue.

 

History

Verdi's production of Aida in early March, 1873 was delayed due to the sudden illness of soprano Teresa Stolz.^[1] Verdi focused his time in Naples on the writing of his first chamber work, the String Quartet in E minor. The work was premiered two days after the opening of Aida during an informal recital at his hotel on April 1, 1873.^[1] The names of the original performers survive only as Pinto brothers, violins, Salvadore, viola, and Giarritiello, cello.

Verdi commented on the work, saying "I've written a Quartet in my leisure moments in Naples. I had it performed one evening in my house, without attaching the least importance to it and without inviting anyone in particular. only the seven or eight persons who usually come to visit me were present. I don't know whether the Quartet is beautiful or ugly, but I do know that it's a Quartet!"

Despite Verdi's humble words, his String Quartet in E minor is valued among the great classical chamber works of the 19th century.

 

It also exists in a version for string orchestra.

 

Sir Antonio Pappano, conductor
Orchestra of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome
London, BBC PROMS 2013
Royal Albert Hall

 

The orchestral version of his 1873 String Quartet opens a programme in which conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, soprano Maria Agresta and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Academy of Santa Cecilia, Rome, bring an authentically Italian bite to the music of the man who, with Wagner, shaped the development of 19th-century opera.

 

 

Quartetto d'Archi dell'Orchestra RAI di Torino:
Alfonso Mosesti, 1st violin
Pietro Moretti, 2nd violin
Giorgio Origlia, viola
Giuditta Lombardi, cello