January-March 2021

The String Quartets of Robert Volkmann

Like Beethoven, Volkmann waited until after he was 30 to pen a string quartet. Quartet No.1, Op.9 in a minor was composed in 1847-8 during his first sojourn in Pest, but not published until he moved to Vienna in 1854. It was actually composed a few months after what later became his second quartet, but it found a publisher before that work. Regarded as modern-sounding at the time, today it does not sound so to us, but one should keep in mind that it was published when Brahms was but 21 and Schumann still alive. The slow introduction of the Largo-Allegro non troppo is reminescent of middle or even late Beethoven structurally with its long silences. After it fades away ppp, without warning the Allegro opens f and moves forward with tremendous energy and drama. The center of gravity in this quartet is clearly in the mammoth Adagio molto which is longer than the third and fourth moments together. It begins in 3/4 and the first subject, which is of great simplicity, is made to sound, through the use of triplets, like a slow-motion minuet. But what develops is of considerable complexity, not only rhythmically but thematically as well. The second half of the movement involves the slow but steady building of tension to a great pitch which is only dissipated by a lenthy silence followed by a soft recitatif for the first violin  before fading away pppp. The Presto is especially captivating, a headlong gallop which only stops for breath in a somewhat slower and more lyrical middle section. In the finale, Allegro impetuoso, one hears echoes of Beethoven, especially in the opening sustained notes, but the writing is pure Volkmann. It presents no great technical demands on the players.

If indeed Volkmann’s Quartet No.2 in g minor, Op.13 is his first, it is a very good first. Volkmann shrewdly deicated the work to the Hellmesberger Quartet of Vienna, perhaps at the time, the most famous in Europe. They quickly made the work well-known throughout Central Europe and a reputation for its composer. From the opening measures of the Allegro con spirito the listener is “taken by the throat.” The drive and dramatic thrust of the thematic material never lets up from start to finish in this extraordinary movement. A charming Andante, said to be based on the German folksong, Kommt a Vogerl geflogen, follows. It is, without so being marked, a set of six variations. A superb Scherzo, Allegro moto comes next. Marked in 6/8, in reality it must be played in 2. There is a short slower section, marked meno, which appears twice, the last time just before the end where it is truncated without warning by an a tempo con fuoco. Really quite outstanding in everyway. The Andantion-Allegro energico-Presto  is a fairly  large  movement  and actually gives the impression of being two, if not three movements. The Andantino is by way of introduction and begins with a leisurely viola solo. The Allegro energico lives up to is name and is forceful and full of passion. There is no real development but a very starkly contrasting interlude tonally and thematically. It is a kind intermezzo before the storm. The movement follows an A-B-A-B pattern before the Presto, used as a coda, is introduced and hurtles the Quartet to its thrilling finish. A little more difficult to play than his first quartet, it is of only average technical difficulty for works of this period. It deserves public performance and, in my opinion, belongs in the repertoire as much as any of the Mendelssohns.  

Today, most Germans, upon hearing the opening bars to Volkmann’s Quartet No.3 in G Major, might say, “Oh he used the melody from Silcher’s famous Lorelei Song,” but they would be wrong. When the similarity was pointed out to him many years later, he told a well-known music critic that he was unfamiliar with the Silcher song. Could this possibly be? According to the music scholar, Max Friedländer, no less than 10 pieces were published prior to Silcher’s with this melody, including one for the piano by the 14 year old Beethoven. Further more, the Lorelei Song did not become well-known throughout Germany until around Bismark’s unification of Germany in 1871 so Volkmann living in Hapsburg Hungary might well not have heard of it in 1857 at the time he composed this work. The second movement, Andante con moto, is based on a plain but pretty theme. The music has charm and the writing is good throughout. Volkmann follows this up with a quick movement which is neither scherzo nor minuet but simply an Allegro con spirito. It’s construction is similar to the last movement of the Second Quartet in that the contrasting section is a short intermezzo whose purpose seems to be to relieve the tension. It is used a second time to bring the movement to a soft and uneventful conclusion. The Quartet is rounded out by an Allegretto sostenuto.

Played in one, it is a headlong gallop over, almost before its begun. A muted Andantino in 5 sharps follows. It is short, uncomplicated and reflective in mood. The finale, Allegretto Vivace, is an interesting movement, if for no other reason than it quotes both Beethoven and Smetana. A sort of ‘laid-back’ or relaxed moto perpetuo, it is nonetheless quite captivating with some rather dramatic moments. A clearly identifiable snippet to the first movement of Beethoven’s Op.18 No.4 can be heard twice as can a very dramatic theme which Smetana used more than twenty years later in his first Aus Mein Leben quartet. This is not a hard quartet to play, very straight forward.

Quartet No.5 in f minor, Op. 37 was written in 1859, a year after Nos. 3 & 4, and upon Volkmann’s return to Pest  after nearly five years in Vienna. Formally, it is only in three movements, which, for the time, is in itself quite unusual. A quick glance at the opening Allegro easily gives a clear idea of the extraordinary force with which this work literally explodes.

The part writing for all four instruments is masterful with a resultant full-bodied and rich sound, verging almost on the orchestral. A peaceful Adagio in D flat comes next. In the final movement, initially marked Allegro energico, Volkmann actually creates two, if not three movements. At first, the movement veers off in the fashion of a scherzo, a driving, powerful movement in ¾ time of the sort one finds in Beethoven’s middle period. The Allegro literally runs itself down into a very beautiful contrasing Andantino which cleverly makes use of the first theme from the Allegro while, at the same time, changing it into something totally different in mood. This, in effect, is the trio to the de facto scherzo. It, in turn, is superceded by an Allegro molto, a Presto and a Prestissimo. And when its all over, both the audience and the players will be out of breath.

Volkmann’s Quartet No.6 in Eb Major, Op.43, was published in 1863. The opening  Allegro con brio begins with what one writer has styled a ‘typical Mannheim Rocket,’ and is followed by the sycopated melody of the first subject which is definitely Hungarian in flavor. The Larghetto which follows is sweet and unassuming except for the animated middle section in which the 1st violin, given a near concerto-like part, breaks loose. The Scherzo which follows is in 5/4 time, one of the earliest examples of the meter in the literature. Though wonderfully crafted, Volkmann was nonetheless roundly attacked for seeking out the unusual and contorted rhythm. Even the trio keeps the meter in what is a first-rate movement by anyone’s standards. A brief Andantino leads to the big finale, Molto vivace, featuring a rousing finish.

We highly recommend these works to professionals and amateurs. You can hear soundbites from all of the string quartets by clicking on the links above. And all are available from Edition Silvertrust.