Presents

Richard Stöhr

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String Quartet No.3 in a minor, Op.92-World Premier Edition

Richard Stöhr (1874-1967) was born in Vienna. His father insisted that he study medicine and Stöhr only formally studied music after receiving an M.D. He entered the Vienna Academy of Music and studied composition with Robert Fuchs receiving a doctorate in 1903. He immediately obtained a teaching position at the Academy and was appointed a professor of composition in 1915, a position he held until 1938. Although Stöhr steadily composed throughout these years, he was better known as an expert on music theory, having written a well received text on the subject. In 1939, he was forced to flee Austria because of the Nazi takeover. He emigrated to the United States. There, he obtained a similar position at the Curtiss Institute of Music. Among his many students were Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, Herbert von Karajan, Erich Zeisl, and Samuel Barber.

Stöhr’s Stnng  Quartet No.3 in a minor was composed in  1943 not long after he finished his second string quartet the previous year. However, it languished in manuscript form untill 2020.Close to 40 years separate it from his first quartet wntten in 1903 in Vienna.  It was written in Colchester Vermont, three years after he was forced to flee his native Austria. Like the second quartet the third is also in the late Romantic idiom but here his ideas seem to be evolvling where at times he seems to be trying to break free from the past.  The work opens with a mysterious, very chromatic Poco maestoso introduction. The main section, Allegro moderato, (our soundbite begins here) harks back to Bach and yet there is a strong wayward tonality expressed through chromaticism. This in turn leads to be a beautiful hymn which might have come from New England church music. The beautiful second movement, Andante sostenuto, is the most traditional of the quartet which has both feet clearly in the late romantic. The faster middle section is a highly original march. Next a Scherzo which starts out as if Bach had composed but very quickly a long-lined lyrical theme is introduced and played over the fugue which then disappears altogether. The finale, like the first movement, begins with a slow introduction, Un poco lento. The quicker main section, Allegro con brio, is full of pulsing chromaticism.

This fine work belongs in the concert hall and can also be warmly recommended to amateur players.

Parts: $29.95

Parts & Score: $39.95