Abstract
Leoš Janáček did not return to composing a string quartet until 1923, almost 45 years after his student composition for this instrumentation. The earlier Piano trio premiered in 1908 has direct relation with Quartet after Tolstoy's "Kreutzer sonata", but Janáček was not convinced of the Trio quality and destroyed it in 1923. However, some moments from the Trio could form the basis of the future quartet. Janáček composed the piece at the initiative of České kvarteto between October and November 1923 and then sent the score to the ensemble. Nonetheless, the first performance was not scheduled until 17 October 1924, when České kvarteto performed the piece at the Mozarteum in Prague. Subsequently, the score and parts were printed in Hudební matice of Umělecká beseda. Josef Suk, the second violinist of České kvarteto, made a significant contribution to the printed form of the composition. The material was published in 1925 and the first foreign performance - critically acclaimed - took place the same year at the festival of International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) in Venice. This study deals with the complicated genesis of the composition, Suk's changes and the principles of the forthcoming edition. Furthermore, it publishes a complete inventory of sources for the first time and describes them in detailed manner.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
