LDV17

19 We know the importance of the piano and the voice in Schumann’s output. And that influence appears even in his string writing, doesn’t it? When you get themelodic line, on the strong beat and very legato, accompanied by the other three instruments playing on the off-beat, the result is a highly pianistic texture that’s very hard to reproduce (as in the Scherzo of the second quartet and the Adagio molto of the third). The influence of the piano is also obvious when you get, from time to time, a vertical texture in abrupt chords. By contrast, the vocal aesthetic is most apparent in the last two quartets, with their many syncopations, where very few notes fall on the beat. Right from the very first interval on the first violin in the third quartet (F sharp - B) you get an impression of vocal music. Finally, the sforzandi , which are typical string effects, call for the player to breath life into the sound, like a human voice. Then you have to be expressive inside the note, within the sound. QUATUOR HERMÈS