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MOZART_QUATUOR TALICH
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TheMilaneseQuartets,K.155–160 (1772–1773)
BelongingtotheperiodofMozart’ssecondstayinItaly,duringthewinterof1772-1773,
the ‘Milan’ Quartets are each in three movements. Relatively short, they are full of
youthfulcharm,withoccasionalglimpsesofMozart’sincomparablematurity.
Some people have found similarities between this first
string quartet in D major
,
K.155, and K.575, the first of the ‘Prussian’ Quartets, composed almost twenty years
later. It is a work full of grace, despite the fact that it was written ‘from the dreary
townofBolzano’whenMozartwasonhiswaytoMilan.
The second
string quartet in G major, K.156
, on the other hand, is quite astonishing:
the opening waltz theme later reappears, with the same pattern but a different
rhythm, in the
Lacrimosa
of the Requiem K.626. The development is very original
and announces the Adagio, which directly prefigures the initial idea of Haydn’s
SymphonyN
o
. 95.And in the course of the developmentwe encounter a figure that
later reappears in the vocal quartet of
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
. Finally, the last
movementcontainsathemefrom
Cosìfantutte
!
The
Allegro
movement of
K.157
is sombre, withmodulations, generally to theminor
key.Wemust not forget that theseworks werewritten by a youngman of sixteen.
The sadness of the
Adagio
is nostalgic and Italian, calling tomind amood that is to
be found inVerdi and Puccini. The final rondo seems to come straight froman
opera
buffa:
itisbrilliantlyconstructedandfullofthejubilationofthishighlyfavouredform,
thestringquartet,withitsstrength,balance,andidealproportions.