Hungarian is one of the most widely-spoken of the non-Indo-European languages in Europe. Yet it is still an unusual language. Language plays an integral role in informing the phrasing and rhythms of music.
Hungary has produced some of the most challenging, innovative and eclectic of composers of the 20th century including Gyorgy Ligeti, Zoltán Kodály, Gyorgy Kurtág and most famous, Béla Bartók, whose last finished string quartet, Quartet No. 6, will be performed by Boston’s Jupiter String Quartet (with guest cellist Rachel Henderson) on January 25 at the Leo Rich Theater, 260 S. Church Ave.
The performance starts at 7:30 p.m. They will also perform Franz Joseph Haydn’s, Quartet in F major, Op. 77 No. 2 and Franz Schubert’s Quintet in C Major, D.956.
Bartók’s Quartet No. 6 was the last thing he composed in his native Hungary before he fled to the United States to escape the madness of World War II. He had a difficult time composing in his new home, and this might have been his last composition if not for the encouragement and commission of director of Boston Symphony Orchestra and champion of modern music Serge Koussevitzky, who elicited from Bartók the Concerto for Orchestra and an unfinished 7th String Quartet, among a few other pieces.
Each of the movements in Quartet no. 6 begins with a “mesto” or “sad” opening. This is not a light piece of music. Europe was being torn apart by prejudice and those drunk with power, and it is not difficult to imagine that Bartók was responding to the terror that had already wreaked havoc on Europe, especially on the eve of the worst war to ravage the world. This isn’t to say this work is entirely mournful and gloomy. In fact, what makes this bit of music so genius is how such a wide range of emotion is still conveyed in a work that is so marked with sadness, especially using the tonalities and moods of modern music. For this reason, many who dislike the jarring tonalities of modern music often make an exception with Béla Bartók.
The Jupiter String Quartet, JupiterQuartet.com, is no stranger to modern music. Their performances might remind you of the Takács Quartet, or the Emerson String Quartet, who don’t shy from challenging music and even have a knack for making modern music feel more mainstream.
The Evening Concert Series, presented by The Arizona Friends of Chamber Music for over 60 years, consists of six concerts by a wide variety of chamber music ensembles. Tickets are available at ArizonaChamberMusic.org or by calling 577-3769.
