DXCIX. CHERUBINI, Luigi: String Quartet #3 in D Minor

DXCIX. CHERUBINI, Luigi (1760-1842)

String Quartet #3 in D Minor (1834)
1. Allegro comodo
2. Larghetto sostenuo
3. Scherzo. Allegro
4. Finale. Allegro risoluto
Quartetto Savinio
(27:26)

Beethoven considered the Italian prodigy the "best of his contemporaries." As far as Cherubini's six string quartets are concerned, Beethoven could only have been familiar with the First (1814); the next five were all composed after Beethoven's death.

I called the Second tepid, but the Third is much more interesting.

First movement

A seven-note motif in the first violin swings upwards then down. Triplets are followed by soft accompaniment, the a fermata puts a hold on everything.

This pausing -- allowing for complete silence -- is a feature of the quartet; it appears frequently.

We soon land upon the relative F Major. (much of the quartet is in this sunnier key!)

Second movement

Larghetto, but the rhythmic values soon create faster movement:

More pausing:

Cherubini means business! pppp:

Third movement

This scherzo is really delightful. It begins with cutesy fugato-like interplay between the cello and viola:

then again the pause before a delicate first violin solo in the parallel major with pizzicato accompaniment:

and another pause before the recap in the minor:

Fourth movement

More fermatas!

and one last pause before the Beethoven-esque triumphant ending ...