As a creative artist,Alexander Borodin (1833-1887) was perhaps the most accomplished of thelate-19th-century Russian nationalist composers; his remarkable gifts wereevident in nearly every work he wrote. Alas, there aren’t very many, forcomposing was always merely his part-time job. Indeed, it often took years forworks to be finished oras in the case of his masterpiece, Prince Igorneverbe finished at all. But such was not the case with his String Quartet No. 2 inD Major (1881), a piece that flowed rather quickly from Borodin’s pen. Notsurprising given his motivation: The D Major Quartet is a love letter to hiswife, Ekaterina, an evocation of when they fell in love some two decadesearlier. The quartet’s Nocturne is independently famous, given its long,ardent and tender melody.
Quite Borodin’s oppositewas Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936), one of Russia’s most prolific composersand a master of classical form. When he was only 16 he produced his FiveNovelettes for String Quartet, Op. 15, a colorful work with movements evokingSpain, the Orient, Hungary and, of course, Russia.
Though Peter Tchaikovsky(1840-1893) composed three quartets, his String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op.11 (1871) is often thought of simply as the Tchaikovsky quartet, andrightfully so. The Andante cantabile second movement is one of his mostbeloved creationsa glowingly beautiful rendition of a melancholy Russian folksong.
All three of these workswill be performed by the Philomusica String Quartet at the Wisconsin Conservatory ofMusic on Feb. 7.
