String Quartet No. 1 (Piston)

String Quartet No. 1 by Walter Piston is a chamber-music work composed in 1933.

History

Piston's first string quartet was premiered on March 7, 1933, by the Chardon Quartet, to whom it is dedicated. It is a charming but by no means bland work that later became a favorite of the Juilliard Quartet.[1] Aaron Copland singled out this quartet, praising its "acidulous opening movement, the poetic mood painting of its second, and its breezy finale", all of which "sets a superb standard of taste and of expert string writing".[2].

Analysis

The quartet is in three movements:

  1. Allegro (3
    4    )
  2. Adagio (8
    8    )
  3. Allegro vivace (2
    4    , 5
    8    )

The first movement is in sonata-allegro form in a mixed C major/C minor. The harmonic language stresses chords based on perfect fourths, and features the chromatic, dissonant counterpoint characteristic of Piston's early period.[3] A nightmarish quality is produced by the approach to the F minor second, waltz-like theme through C♯ minor.[1] The second movement is a simple ABA in E minor, with the strings muted in the brooding, chromatic outer sections, and an unmuted fugato in sharply dotted rhythms in the central part.[3] This movement especially features the cello.[1] The rondo finale is based throughout on a repeated-note motive of three sixteenth notes, and the first subject recalls the quartet's opening movement by alternating C and D♭.[3] The string writing here is expert and spectacular, with some disorienting harmonic twists.[1]

Discography
  • 1939. Walter Piston: String Quartet no. 1; Henry Cowell: Movements for String Quartet (1928). Dorian String Quartet. 78 RPM recording, 3 sound discs. Columbia Masterworks M 388 (set) Columbia Masterworks; 69745-D 69746-D; 69747-D. [Bridgeport, Connecticut]: Columbia Masterworks.
  • 1954. Gian Francesco Malipiero: Rispetti e strambotti; Walter Piston: String Quartet [no. 1]. Juilliard String Quartet. Pittsburgh International Contemporary Music Festival, 1952. LP recording. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers CB 156—CB 157. New York: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
  • 1985. Walter Piston: String Quartet No. 1; String Quartet No. 2. Portland String Quartet. LP recording. Northeastern Records NR 216. Boston, Massachusetts: Northeastern Records. Reissued as part of Walter Piston: String Quartet No. 1; String Quartet No. 2; String Quartet No. 3. The Portland String Quartet (Stephen Kecskemethy and Ronald Lanz, violins; Julia Adams, viola; Paul Ross, cello). CD recording. Northeastern NR 9001 CD. Boston: Northeastern University, 1988.
  • 1991. Walter Piston: Quartet No. 1. Quincy Porter: Quartet No. 3; Samuel Barber: String Quartet in B Minor, op. 11. The Chester String Quartet (Fritz Gearhart, Kathryn Votapek, violins; Ronald Goravic, viola; Thomas Rosenberg, cello). CD recording. Koch International Classics 3-7069-2 H1. [Westbury, New York]: Koch International Classics.
  • 2010. Walter Piston: String Quartets Nos. 1, 3 and 5. Harlem Quartet. CD Recording. Naxos 8.559630 [Hong Kong]: Naxos Records.

References
  1. Pollack 1982, 42.
  2. Copland 1968, 132.
  3. DeVoto 1988.

Sources

  • Copland, Aaron. 1968. The New Music 1900–1960, revised and enlarged edition. New York: W. W. Norton.
  • DeVoto, Mark. 1988. Booklet notes for Walter Piston: String Quartet No. 1; String Quartet No. 2; String Quartet No. 3. The Portland String Quartet (Stephen Kecskemethy and Ronald Lanz, violins; Julia Adams, viola; Paul Ross, cello). CD recording. Northeastern NR 9001 CD. Boston: Northeastern University.
  • Pollack, Howard. 1982. Walter Piston. Studies in Musicology. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press. ISBN 0-8357-1280-X.
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