January-March 2020

The String Quartets of Leonhard von Call

Leonhard von Call (1767-1815) was born in the town of Eppan in South Tirol, then part of the Austrian Empire, and since 1919 in northern Italy. Although he studied music as a boy and became a virtuoso on the guitar and mandarin, composing, teaching and performing was something he did as an avocation. He served as an officer in the Austrian army during the war against the French Republic and was ennobled for bravery. The rest of his life, he worked as an official in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna. In his spare time, he composed and became a much sought after teacher. Most of his compositions were for chamber ensembles, the bulk of which involved the guitar. He was a prolific composer and is thought to have composed more than 200 works. Most of these were designed for amateurs and home music making rather than virtuoso players and for this reason as well as the fact that he had a gift for writing very appealing melodies, his works achieved tremendous popularity during the first part of the 19th century. As far as we know, he composed only three works for String Quartet. All three follow, more or less, the same pattern as they were probably composed at the same time. They are charming, full of appealing melodies, not at all difficult to play and make perfect choices for amateur groups looking to perform an effective work from the classical era.

The String Quartet No.1 in C Major is the first of a set of three quartets which were published shortly before his death by the Vienna firm of Carl Haslinger, although most scholars seem to think the quartets were composed in the late 1790s but only given to Haslinger at a later date after von Call's chamber music with guitar had become popular. The Quartet is representative of the typical Vienna Classical Style. In four movements, the opening Allegro moderato features a gentle and lovely melody in the first violin and later a dialog between the cello and first violin. The second movement is a theme and set of five variations. Next comes a charming Menuet. The work concludes with a toe-tapping Rondo, moderato.

String Quartet No.2 in G Major the second of the set is, as its predecessor, is also representative of the typical Vienna Classical Style. In four movements, the opening Allegro once again features a nice dialog between the cello and first violin. The second movement is a lovely Adagio. Next comes a typical Viennese Menuet with contrasting trio. The work concludes with a catchy Rondo, Allegro.

String Quartet No.3 in F Major, the last of these three quartets again is a child of the Vienna Classical era. Of particular note is the generous treatment of the cello. Not many works from this period did this. In four movements, beginning with a stately, Allegro, but slowly the tempo picks up. The second movement is a theme and set of six variations. Next comes a charming Menuetto with two trios. The work concludes with an appealing Rondo, moderato.

We highly recommend these works to amateur players and students. You can hear soundbites from all three string quartets by clicking on the links above. And all are available from Edition Silvertrust.