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Pavel Haas Second String Quartet "From the Monkey Mountains"
Submitted by Yoel
Epstein 12/19/03:
Since NrmPiano brought up the subject of Entartete Kunst, I thought I
would write a note about this wonderful quartet. It is actually originally
scored for string quartet and snare drum (obligato), but we have never
played it with a snare drum.
The quartet is program music par excellence, each movement describing a
different scene from this Czech mountain range. It is full of eery
harmonies remeniscent of Janacek, wandering somewhere between consonance
and dissonance. The movement entitled "Horse and Cart" is hilarious and
graphic - you can hear the cart slithering up the mountain in deep mud,
then clattering down the other side.
The parts are not at all easy, and some of the ensemble is very tricky.
But definitely worth the effort. Published by Bote and Bock.
Submitted by Geoff
Piper 12/20/03:
Maybe a tiny biographical note is of interest. Pavel Haas is usually
termed in the West "one of the Terezin/Theresienstadt composers." Though
this is of course true, it is a bit misleading and the Czechs do not so
describe him so as he wrote several notable works in the 20's and 30's
(including Yoel's string quartet). It is sad that a certain fame should
have come to him mostly because of the tragic end to his life, shared by
several other notable composers.... Cheers Geoff Piper
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