Paul Hindemith - String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22 [With score]

-Composer: Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) -Performers: Los Angeles String Quartet String Quartet No. 4, op. 22, written in 1921 00:00 - I. Fugato, Sehr langsame Viertel 05:18 - II. Schnelle Achtel, Sehr energisch 10:12 - III. Ruhige Viertel. Stets fließend 20:29 - IV. Mäßig schnelle Viertel 22:09 - V. Rondo. Gemächlich und mit Grazie The numbering of Hindemith’s quartets has remained a bit confusing because some catalogs and recording labels have been slow to designate the 1915 Quartet in C as No. 1. For years, it had been thought lost (the composer suppressed it and would not allow it to be published), thus leaving each succeeding quartet with a lower number. This Op. 22 Quartet was designated as No. 3 up to the 1970s, when the First Quartet was finally taken into account. The Hindemith Fourth is his most popular quartet and one of his more direct in expression and style. It is cast in five short movements. The first, Fugato Sehr Langsam (very slowly), is fairly chromatic and features much brilliant contrapuntal writing. The second, marked Schnell Achtel (fast), is bristling with energy and features deft use of rhythms throughout. The middle movement, Ruhige viertel (calm), shows hints of Bartok in its harmonic and thematic fabric, and the last two panels are fashioned in part after baroque concertante models. The fourth movement is marked Massig Schnelle Viertel (very fast), and the fifth is a lively, attractive Rondo. Certainly this work must be assessed as one of Hindemith’s finest early chamber works. []