Nicolaus Zmeskall und die Initialen „NZ“ auf einigen Abschriften von Werken J. Haydns und A. Zimmermanns

2008 ◽  
Vol 49 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-71
Author(s):  
Anna Schirlbauer
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
String Quartet ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
Joseph Haydn ◽  
Great Similarity ◽  
Violin Concerto

Several copies of works by Joseph Haydn and Anton Zimmermann, located mainly at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, have some striking features in common: almost identical calligraphic initials “NZ,” dates ranging from 1776 to 1778 on the cover pages, and great similarity in the handwriting of text and music. This handwriting was analysed by the author and compared to the surviving contemporary manuscript copies (paper, watermarks, script) of string quartets by Nicolaus Zmeskall (1759–1833), Beethoven’s friend in Vienna. Using previously unknown samples of Zmeskall’s handwriting from the period of his high school studies in Pressburg (Bratislava, Slovakia), it was possible to identify his music-copying style, and determine conclusively that his string quartet manuscripts are autographs. This study proves that the manuscript copies of the Haydn and Zimmermann works (including Haydn’s Violin Concerto in G Major and two symphonies by Zimmermann) were written out by Zmeskall, while he was living in Pressburg. This previously unknown aspect of Zmeskall’s biography is treated at length and it is suggested that this talented cellist and composer may have been in contact with Haydn much earlier than hitherto suspected.

Benjamin Lees: Quo Vadis?

Tempo ◽  
1990 ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Bret Johnson
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Music ◽  
Double Concerto ◽  
Violin Concerto ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Individual Personality ◽  
Quo Vadis ◽  
Sound Spectrum

Fifteen years ago, Nicolas Slonimsky wrote of Benjamin Lees in Tempo: ‘At a time when so many otherwise valiant composers are star-crossed and complain of malign neglect, Benjamin Lees rises “in excelsis” in the musical firmament’. And so he has continued since, with many commissions and numerous major works to his credit, matched by frequent performances in the United States. It is a time that has seen the creation of his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, a set of Variations for Piano and Orchestra, a Concerto for Brass Choir and Orchestra, a Double Concerto for Piano, Cello and Orchestra, at least four other orchestral compositions of substantial scale, and the Third and Fourth String Quartets. All of these have contributed to his continuing high profile in the American musical scene. When one surveys Lees's entire corpus of music over the last four decades, one sees an impressive range of works, achievements and awards. Such pieces as the Violin Concerto (1958), Third Symphony (1969) and Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (1965), all commercially recorded, stand out as landmarks not only of his own music but of postwar American music generally. His style has continued to evolve in recent years and whilst his hallmark is still his adherence to form and structure, he has become more concerned with orchestral sonority and, without becoming explicitly programmatic, practises his art within an ever-widening sound spectrum and colouristic palette. He has always possessed a strongly individual personality, and the ‘Lees Sound’ is unquestionably unique, even through his exposition and development of musical ideas-and the technique of continual evolution which he favours at present-derive, at source, from his most important early musical teacher: George Antheil.

scholarly journals quantitative study of pitch registers in string quartets opus 17, by Joseph Haydn

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos da Silva Sampaio ◽  
Vicente Sanches ◽  
Matheus Travassos ◽  
Carla Castro
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
String Quartet ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Joseph Haydn ◽  
Methodological Framework

In this paper, we present an exploratory study of the pitch registers on the string quartets Opus 17, by Joseph Haydn, according to a quantitative approach. This subject is relevant because the pitch registers studies have revealed noteworthy issues in the Musical Analysis area, the statistical techniques help to detect musical subtleties with a small potential for bias, and because on this corpus, Haydn has established standards for the string quartet genre. The pitch registers study allowed us to identify relevant musical aspects in the repertoire, understand the role of extreme registers in the form segmentation, and observe the prominence of the development and second theme sections, and the feasibility of the quantitative methods. We present a brief theoretical foundation, the methodological framework, the results of the investigation on the quartets' instrument pitches, a discussion about these results, and the conclusions. Keywords: Pitch register, Quantitative analysis, Digital Musicology, String quartet, Joseph Haydn

scholarly journals TREATMENT OF RECAPITULATION OF THE FIRST MOVEMENTS IN THE SONATA FORM OF BEETHOVEN’S STRING QUARTETS OP. 18

2021 ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Danijela Zdravić-Mihailović
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
Joseph Haydn ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
New Treatment ◽  
Analysis Point

The paper focuses on the function of recapitulation in the sonata form relying on the example of the first movements of Beethoven's string quartets Op. 18 No. 1–6. With regard to the fact that recapitulation is commonly described as a restatement of the exposition with tonal alterations of the second theme and the closing section, analytical deliberations most often do not go beyond recording such alterations. However, some analysis point to the new role of the recapitulation exactly on account of the essence of the undertaken alterations, i.e. on account of the idea that the composer wants to accomplish at the level of sonata form through recapitulation. The research is conceived as a continuation of the previous studies (Zdravić Mihailović 2006, 2007a, 2007b, 2015a, 2015b). These studies focused on the genre of string quartet of Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, where recapitulation was proven to be a remarkable phenomenon as its role was not merely to restate the exposition’s content with the usual tonal alterations. On the contrary, it can be a place of a new treatment of the sections of the exposition, and gives it some completely specific features.

Ernest Bloch's Second String Quartet

Tempo ◽  
1959 ◽  
pp. 11-16
Author(s):  
Frederick Rimmer
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sonata Form ◽  
Musical Expression ◽  
The Right

The four string quartets* of Bloch are a convenient medium for assessing both the strength and weakness of his unusual talent, revealing, as they do, an imperfect endowment of those processes of thought and feeling from which, in the right amalgam, a masterpiece of musical expression can emerge. Only the second quartet represents him at his best. It is one of the few works where inspiration and emotion are under the control of the intellect. There are weaknesses in the other quartets largely brought about by preoccupation with cyclic procedures—a notorious and dangerous expedient for a composer unable by nature to accept the traditional usages and disciplines of sonata form.

Six String Quartets, Opus 32 and Opus 33

10.31022/c042 ◽  
1994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leopold Kozeluch
Keyword(s):  
String Quartet ◽  
String Quartets

Kozeluch, Mozart's greatest rival in Vienna, published his only string quartets in 1790 and 1792, at a time when he was being described by the lexicographer Gerber as “the most loved among living composers.” A study of these works offers much-needed insights into this significant composer, the string quartet genre, and the fascinating decade that saw the musical shift from classicism to romanticism.

London, Wigmore Hall: Maxwell Davies's new ‘Naxos Quartets’ (and earlier works on CD)

Tempo ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 58 (228) ◽  
pp. 68-69
Author(s):  
Paul Conway
Keyword(s):  
Chamber Music ◽  
String Quartet ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
Individual Character ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Peter Maxwell Davies ◽  
Original Approach

In a project that will be completed in 2007, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has been commissioned by the Naxos recording company to write ten string quartets. Large-scale ambitions already realized, the intimacy of chamber music offers an opportunity not only to consolidate but also to probe and quest with the precision of scaled-down forces. It is timely, then, to be reminded that, although it has not been a major preoccupation such as opera, concerto and symphony writing, the quartet form has drawn from him some significant examples evincing an original approach. A recent Metier release usefully gathers together on one disc all Max's works for string quartet prior to the Naxos series. In these persuasive recordings, the members of the Kreutzer Quartet display a keen understanding of the individual character of each piece, the circumstances of its creation and the purpose for which it was intended.

scholarly journals Optimal feedback correction in string quartet synchronization

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (93) ◽  
pp. 20131125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan M. Wing ◽  
Satoshi Endo ◽  
Adrian Bradbury ◽  
Dirk Vorberg
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
String Quartet ◽  
Music Performance ◽  
String Quartets ◽  
Relative Timing ◽  
Correction Model ◽  
First Order ◽  
Fourth Movement ◽  
Time Series Approach ◽  
Feedback Correction

Control of relative timing is critical in ensemble music performance. We hypothesize that players respond to and correct asynchronies in tone onsets that arise from fluctuations in their individual tempos. We propose a first-order linear phase correction model and demonstrate that optimal performance that minimizes asynchrony variance predicts a specific value for the correction gain. In two separate case studies, two internationally recognized string quartets repeatedly performed a short excerpt from the fourth movement of Haydn's quartet Op. 74 no. 1, with intentional, but unrehearsed, expressive variations in timing. Time series analysis of successive tone onset asynchronies was used to estimate correction gains for all pairs of players. On average, both quartets exhibited near-optimal gain. However, individual gains revealed contrasting patterns of adjustment between some pairs of players. In one quartet, the first violinist exhibited less adjustment to the others compared with their adjustment to her. In the second quartet, the levels of correction by the first violinist matched those exhibited by the others. These correction patterns may be seen as reflecting contrasting strategies of first-violin-led autocracy versus democracy. The time series approach we propose affords a sensitive method for investigating subtle contrasts in music ensemble synchronization.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document