Return Home Go to Biography Page Go to Koechel Page Go to Photo Gallery Go to Who's Who Page Go to Search Page Go to About Us Page

  
Search      
Browse by Category

For Köchel Search use minimum of 4 characters ie: K001, K067, K527

MozartForum Articles
 Mozart the Man
 Mozart's Contemporaries
 Mozart's Legacy
 Mozart's Music
 Arrangements and Copies
 Chamber Music
 Strings
 With and For Winds
 With Piano
 Church Music
 Concertos
 Dances
 Doubtful or Spurious
 Keyboard Music
 Miscellaneous Lists of Mozart Works
 Performance Practice
 Symphonies, Divertimenti, etc.
 Theatrical and Vocal Music
 Mozart's World
 Mozartiania

K589 The Various Fragments for the Final Movement of this String Quartet

Dennis  Pajot







In 1790 Mozart wrote in his work catalogue "im May. Ein Quartett für 2 Violin, Viola e Violoncello". This is the String Quartet in Bb K589, the second of the Quartets Mozart originally planned to dedicate to the King of Prussia, Frederick William II. In short Mozart originally planned to write six quartets and have them engraved at his own expense by Leopold Kozeluch in Vienna. Eventually this plan was dropped and Mozart ended up selling his three finished quartets (K575, K589 and K590) to Artaria "for a wretched sum" in 1790. Artaria did not publish these until late December 1791, without a dedication, as Mozart's Op.18.

The finale of Mozart's Quartet K589 is an Allegro assai, Bb, in 6/8 time. However immediately after the 3rd movement Menuetto is a crossed out complete thematic phrase of 18 measures noted only for 1st violin, that apparently was the beginning of Mozart's original conception of the finale. Alfred Einstein in K3 (and K6 followed him) believed this was the beginning of a theme and variations movement. However the editor of the NMA volume of string Quartets, Ludwig Finscher, believed it is the beginning of a Rondo. Finscher wrote the original theme's "tender and strangely veiled quality differs notably from the spirit of the ultimate finale".

Another fragment has been brought into connection with the Quartet K589. In the Mozarteum in Salzburg is a autograph fragment of a String Quartet consisting of 65 measures, in Bb, 3/4 time, Allegretto (K.Anh 68/589a). Of these 65 measure, the first 8 are completely carried out, and then only sketched for the 1st violin in the rest. The movement is certainly a Polonaise and even carried this designation "Pollacca" in a copy of Aloys Fuchs.

In her 1926 dissertation on Mozart's fragments Mena Blachitz placed this fragment in 1788. In K3 Alfred Einstein held it "not for unlikely" this fragment was originally thought of as the finale to K589. Ludwig Finscher believed Mozart originally started this piece as the finale to K589, then withdrew it from the autograph and started the above discussed sketch preserved in the autograph; of course then followed by the final version.

However Alan Tyson's paper studies showed the paper used for the fragment K589a is the same as that used in the Minuet of the String Quartet K458. Tyson explained as their is nothing to connect K589a to the Quartet K589 but its key of Bb, "it is much more plausible" to to associate it with the Bb String Quartet K458 of 1784.

Christoph Wolff in a 1979 publication agreed K589a apparently belonged in the context of K458. Wolff thought the reason Mozart abandon this was because "the composer must have thought that this polonaise style Allegretto in 3/4 would not sufficiently counterbalance the opening Allegro vivace in 6/8 [of K458]".

Now to make matters a little more interesting, there is another fragment that probably DOES belong to the finale of K589. Tyson's paper studies show the fragment K.Anh 71/458b is "no doubt to be connected with K589". K.Anh 71/458b is a fragment of 10 measures, obviously for a fast tempo in 3/4 meter. Mena Blaschitz had placed this fragment in 1782 believing it was a draft to one of the "Haydn Quartets". Einstein agreed, but placed it a little later--as a Rondo fragment to the Bb "Hunt" Quartet K458. Thus Einstein dated it "beginning of November 1784", taking it out of the Anhang and giving it the number K458b. In the 1960 volume of String Quartets for the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe Ludwig Finscher wrote the similarity of K458b and the finale of K458 is "strikingly large".

Alan Tyson's research showed the paper type of this fragment is the principal paper-type of the 2nd act of Cosi fan tutte, and also found in the autographs of both the String Quartets K589 and K590. Tyson could "hardly doubt" this is an attempt at the finale of K589.

Christopff Wolff, taking a look at the two failed attempts at a finale of K589 (K458b and the 18 measures preserved in Mozart's autograph) had this to say: "The composer's ultimate choice for the finale to K.589 was a very fast 6/8 movement, but he had apparently weighed his options between 2/4 and 6/8 time on the one hand, and Allegro assai and Allegretto on the other. The solution then seems to have been prompted by a combination of two ideas, that is, the merging of the tempo concept of K458b with the metric notion of K6 p. 673 [that is the 18 measures in the autograph]...The importance of a fitting finale to balance the opening 3/4 Allegro in the compositional planning of K589 becomes even more evident if it is seen as an integral element of Mozart's deliberate choice of a different type for each of the outer movements of the Prussian quartets".

All commentators point out the similarity between the finale Mozart ultimately used and the finale of Joseph Haydn's Quaratet in Eb Op.33 Nr.2 (composed between 1778 and 1781).



__________________________________________________________________________


.: Powered by Lore 1.5.3

For suggestions or problems contact the webmaster                                   © 2004-2009 The MozartForum All rights reserved