Mozart: The Prussian Quartets

The King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, was a good amateur cellist, and it is to him that Mozart’s next three string quartets are dedicated.

Artists: Franz Schubert Quartet of Vienna; Florian Zwiauer (violin I), Helge Rosenkranz (violin II), Hartmut Pascher (viola) & Vincent Stadlmair (cello)

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The cello plays a prominent part in these three quartets, with some innovative techniques, which may have stretched the royal cellist a little! The composition of this set was begun against the backdrop of the French Revolution in 1789, and the Duport brothers, both well-known musicians had escaped France to settle in Berlin. Mozart knew the elder of the two brothers well, and so was surely aware of the treatise on the cello by his younger brother, which he had been writing for a considerable period, but was finally published in 1813. This was devoted to the use of fingering and bowing on the cello, so would have had some influence in the way Mozart wrote for the cello in these Prussian string quartets.

In K575, although the cello is given a prominent role, it never upsets the balance between the instruments: Mozart handles this challenge with mastery and refinement, lightening the texture throughout. The final movement contains an elegant cello melody, with some flourishes, but it is never allowed to dominate, so Mozart pays dignified tribute to his royal patron, without ever being sycophantic.

Mozart had begun the composition of the three string quartets, dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, in 1789, but the completion of the last two quartets was delayed to 1790. The quartets K589 and K590, whilst still forming part of the three “Prussian” quartets, had a less prominent part for the cello than their predecessor, K575.

The four movements of K589, Allegro, Larghetto, Menuetto‐Moderato, Allegro Assai, challenge the balance between movements: the Minuet is the longest movement, whilst the final Allegro Assai is very short. Again in this quartet, Mozart uses counterpoint to the full. The second movement, the Larghetto is beautifully proportioned, gentle and elegant, with its exquisite melody being mostly on the violin. The Menuetto‐Moderato has none of the dance‐like predictability of Mozart’s early minuets: it is recognisably in a triple time, but is full of motives and ideas playfully tossed between the instruments. The final Allegro Assai is a bright, bouncy movement with reminiscences of the opening of the ‘Hunt’ quartet, and confidently finishes off this quartet in only 155 bars. K 590, the last of Mozart’s quartets, shows that he had completely mastered a form which he had seemed to struggle with: its drama is immediately obvious in the opening bars, confident and commanding with simple, unison arpeggios. Soon, the listener is entertained by the cello’s starring role ‐ a tribute to Friedrich Wilhelm II, himself an amateur cellist. The second movement, Allegretto is an almost operatic melody with variations like some of the coloratura arias from Mozart’s operas. There is, below the mask of warmth, a slight melancholy. The Minuet is not one of Mozart’s bright, childlike ones, it too bears dark undertones. However, in the final Allegro movement, the happy mask is firmly back in place, and Mozart delights with the exuberance of the writing, but beneath there is a tension and Mozart interrupts the bright, coloratura writing with insistent semi‐quaver figures and abrupt chords.

Tracklist:
String Quartet in D Major, K. 575:
0:00:00 I. Allegretto
0:08:01 II. Andante
0:13:04 III. Menuetto - Trio. Allegretto
0:19:35 IV. Allegretto

String Quartet in B-Flat Major, K. 589:
0:26:02 I. Allegro
0:32:23 II. Larghetto
0:40:21 III. Menuetto - Trio. Moderato
0:47:50 IV. Allegro assai

String Quartet in F Major, K. 590:
0:51:51 I. Allegro moderato
1:01:18 II. Andante
1:08:48 III. Menuetto - Trio. Allegretto
1:13:18 IV. Allegro

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