Hyunseo Yang - Streichquartettsatz Nr. 1 g-moll (2020)

"Movement for String Quartet No. 1 in g minor (2020)" is an exercise I completed during the initial stage of my formal training in composition. I have always regarded the string quartet as a particularly demanding ensemble—perhaps the most familiar to us, and yet also one of the most sonically challenging, given that so many people first encounter it through four-part harmonic exercises while studying Harmonielehre. What's more, the towering string quartet repertoire left behind by so many great composers—van Beethoven's late quartets above all—has placed considerable pressure on me, even as these are the very works I hold most dear. I am still sharpening my craft in the hope of one day writing decent quartet works. The work that gave me the most direct inspiration for this piece was Brahms' Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115. What struck me most was this: although the piece is in b minor, Brahms withholds the tonic from the very start. Instead, the clarinet introduces the theme in the Parallelklang(relative key) of D major, and only once the viola and cello take up the melody does the 'true tonic', b minor, finally emerge. This device of opening with what amounts to a "false start" does not appear to have originated with Brahms himself. It seems, rather, to trace back to Joseph Haydn, one of the composers Brahms most admired—specifically to Haydn's string quartets in the same key, Op. 33 No. 1 and Op. 64 No. 2. As it happens, Haydn employs precisely the same device in both of these b minor quartets: opening in the Parallelklang of D major before revealing the true key of b minor only later. In that sense, one can almost find out a sort of lineage here. And given how thoroughly steeped Brahms was in the 'classics' (in his era), it seems more than plausible—almost certain—that he knew these works and drew on them directly. The tonal structure is identical to Haydn's, yet Brahms brings a mastery all his own to this tonal ambiguity, using it to heighten the bittersweet, autumnal quality so characteristic of his music, adding depth of sentiment to the piece. While Brahms went on to publish string ensemble works in other configurations—the sextets, Op. 18 and 36, and the piano-accompanied works, Op. 25, 26, and 34—he found the string quartet far harder to master, so overshadowed was he by the towering figure of Beethoven. It took him eight years, well into his forties, before he finally released his first. This piece, of course, is nowhere near a fully realised "String Quartet No. 1" in a voice of my own. Not like Brahms, I haven't burned my early drafts. Hope you enjoy it.