Bartók String quartet no 3

Day 6 

Bartók String quartet no 3

Emerson String Quartet

My first encounter with Bartók was (I think) in an A level music lesson when we heard at least part of the music for Strings percussion and celesta. It made a strong impression on me then and remains the Bartók piece I know best. I played a few of the easier pieces on the piano and did a rehearsal run though of the Concerto for Orchestra as a bassoon player but I am not sure that I have ever played and Bartók in a concert.

The first time I came across the quartets was at University, when we had a very interesting session comparing records of the 4th quartet. I've got to know the 1st and 6th quartet but as far as a recall I have never heard the 3rd quartet.

What astonishing music this is - it is extraordinary to think that is now nearly 100 years old (it was written in only 3 weeks in 1927 and won a chamber music prize the following year). It places huge difficulties on the performers, not just in terms of the notes but especially in regard to the rhythm. The meter changes almost bar by bar in the fast sections and in places the bar lines for the four players don't coincide. Music of this rhythmic complexity is hard enough as an orchestra player with a conductor to guide you - for four individuals each with their own complex part co-ordination must be nightmare involving enormous amounts of rehearsal.

This is not easy music to listen to but it is highly rewarding. The sheer variety of sound that Bartók gets from his four players is extraordinary and the ferocious folk-based rhythms are infectious. But perhaps in the end it is the beauty and intensity of the quieter music with which the quartet begins and which returns towards the end which is the most memorable feature of the work. 

There is much more Bartók to explore. I've probably heard most of the main pieces at some time or other but I don't know all of them very well. I'm sure Bartók will reappear at some point in this project.