Well, last week when I listened to Mozart’s Piano Sonata in F Major for Four Hands (HERE), I noticed that YouTube included Borodin’s quartet in the right-hand column of next and up-coming videos, so I thought, “why not?” Thus, Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2 became the choice du jour -- or should I say de la semaine? What a wonderful and pleasant surprise this quartet turned out to be! Had I heard this piece before? Well... I. The first movement, Allegro moderato -- no, I have not heard this before. However, there was a melody in this movement that was very reminiscent of something I have heard before. Here's the opening theme of Borodin's piece played by the cello to begin the first movement: This very lyrical movement is written in sonata form, so this melody is played several times throughout the piece; however, every time it played, I kept thinking about some other tune -- like this: F# (on the downbeat) - A - F#E - D / F# - A - F#E - D / E - F# - A - F# / E (whole note); repeat. What is that song? It's driving me crazy. The progression (particularly the E - F# - A - F# / E) sounds a bit like the "Going Home" theme from the second movement of Dvořák's "New World" symphony -- but I don't think that's what I'm hearing. II. The second movement, Allegro -- yes, I have heard this before -- but not as Borodin's String Quartet No. 2. This movement is a lively scherzo, and it reminded me of something like Mendelssohn's incidental music to "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a score for sprightly fairies and wood nymphs frolicking in the forest. Very quickly, though, a subordinate theme picked up that I had, indeed, heard before, a tune that was used in the 1954 musical "Kismet" as "Baubles, Bangles, and Beads."
It turns out that the main theme from this movement was also used in "Kismet" for a song called "This Is My Beloved" -- but I don't think I've ever heard that song (until now), nor have I seen "Kismet."
Here is some of what is included in an article on Wikipedia about the final movement: "The finale demonstrates Borodin's mastery of counterpoint. Written in a conventional sonata form, it opens with an introduction, which introduces the principal theme, broken into two elements: a dialogue between two violins, answered by a viola and cello....After much contrapuntal work (including a charming "horse-riding" episode worthy of Rossini, beginning in measure 296), the recapitulation begins...this time enunciated by the combined strings...." So, Borodin's String Quartet No. 2 -- which according to one article I read was composed as an anniversary gift to his wife -- was a very pleasant surprise indeed! I loved it. Hmm...come to think of it, my wedding anniversary is coming up at the end of this month. I'd better start composing something!
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A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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