Charles Ives (1874 – 1954)
Charles Edward Ives is widely regarded as one of the first American classical composers of international significance. Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives would come to be regarded as one of the "American Originals," a composer working in a uniquely American style, with American tunes woven through his music, and a reaching sense of the possibilities in music.
Like many of Ives' compositions, the String Quartet No. 1 is based on a eries of compositions that Ives had written for church services. The piece is also subtitled "A Revival Service," and it liberally quotes a variety of hymns that were popular in Ives' day. (Ives later recalled the criticisms of Horatio Parker, his music teacher at Yale, who was scandalized that a "serious" piece of music was based on hymn tunes.) Ives composed the String Quartet No. 1 from 1898 to 1902, based on earlier organ and string works from 1896-1898. Unfortunately, all of these organ works are now lost. He later re-worked the first movement of this work as the third movement in the Fourth Symphony. Tunes that are quoted include: Missionary Hymn, Coronation, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Nettleton, Beulah Land, The Shining Shore and Webb. The first documented
complete performance of the String Quartet No. 1 took place on April 24, 1957 performed by the Kohon String Quartet at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Tinnitus Quartet
Brent Michael Davids (b. 1959)
The Tinnitus Quartet is an introspective work that evokes the stages and emotions of someone suffering from tinnitus. “Tinnitus” is a ringing, sometimes a buzzing or crackling sound that comes from within the ear. It affects more than 50 million Americans including, it seems, music composers and concert violinists. In addition to the constant ringing, which never goes away, tinnitus can bring ear pain, dizziness, a feeling of fullness in the ear, and headache. Besides being introspective, the Tinnitus Quartet is an autobiographical work, as I am living with a severe version of the condition myself. The ringing in my right ear is louder than the brazen hum of a Raucous refrigerator, remains clearly audible over a roaring lawn mower, pierces over the sound of heavy dump trucks, and remains in my head nonstop. The ringing never ceases it is with me all the time. Have you ever tried listening to a music concert while -- at the same time -- hearing the clamor of an extremely high-pitched warning siren? Although I can joke about my condition now, it was not always possible for me to be light hearted about it. I went through various stages of denial, frustration, anger, grief and even depression, but eventually decided to “befriend” the ringing as a living Extension of myself. Making friends with the aural disturbance was my only solution. Now I try minimizing its affect by listening to crickets, birds, wind and Ocean sounds, and by using a hearing aide; I highly recommend cricket sounds. Masking the affliction with crickets, or boosting the volume of my natural hearing with a hearing aide, allows my mind’s eye to “tune it out” for periods of time. So now I can accept this condition as part of me, and can even laugh when some friend teases me about why I write all my music “in the same key!”
The Tinnitus Quartet, as a work for string quartet, intends to challenge an audience with the living effect of tinnitus in two ways. First, the work is itself autobiographical, and stands as a testament to the emotions of people living with Tinnitus. But secondly, the work is composed with the ringing of a tinnitus tone physically audible throughout the 16-minute work. In this way, the audience might gain a small insight into the condition by experiencing a short facsimile of it. Tinnitus was written especially for Sandy Yamamoto and the Miró Quartet and was commissioned by the University of Texas at Austin. I regard the Miró Quartet as one of the world’s finest string quartets. I am grateful for their inspiration and for commissioning this important work. Notes by Brent Michael Davids
String Quartet, Op. 59, No. 1 (1806)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827)
Beethoven’s three string quartets, Op. 59 have become inseparably linked with the name of Count Razumovsky, one of Vienna’s foremost musical patrons, and from 1808 until 1814 he employed a permanent string quartet, with whom he often played violin. The three “Razumovsky” Quartets were composed in what for Beethoven was an unusually short period of time, from April to November 1806. Just as, in 1803, Beethoven’s “Eroica” had irrevocably changed the face of symphonic music, so his Op. 59 String Quartets changed the traditional notion of chamber music as a vehicle for domestic music-making. In addition to their extreme technical demands the quartets were conceived on a broad canvas, and none of Beethoven’s works met with more bafflement that these.
The first movement begins with a long cello melody unfolding beneath an unchanging accompaniment that leads to a highly dramatic exposition. The second movement – a scherzo in character, though not in tempo or form – presents a kaleidoscopic juxtaposition of contrasting material. His propensity for passing unaccompanied melodic lines rapidly from one instrument to another seems to anticipate the world of Beethoven’s late quartets. The third movement is one of Beethoven’s great tragic statements with its pervasive atmosphere of grief stated in F-minor. An elaborate violin cadenza links to the finale, with its Russian main theme introduced in deference to Count Razumovsky, although hardly in the style of the traditional tune. The end of the exposition links the third movement and finale, with a reprise of the violin cadenza, now scored for the full quartet. Shortly before the end the Russian tune is momentarily heard in a tempo more in keeping with its original character.