QUATUOR HERMÈS 25 It ends with a waltz with almost decadent overtones. Without being quite so desperate, it could be reminiscent of Ravel's waltz, which also marks the end of a carefree epoch. It is a completely unbridled waltz which, like Maurice Ravel’s own, seems to spiral out of control and conveys a sense of headlong flight. Korngold is here expressing nostalgia for a world in which everything once felt lighter. It should be remembered that in 1933 the composer already felt threatened by the rise of Nazism and was preparing to flee into exile. Yet he displays extraordinary energy, even marking on the score tempi of such extreme rapidity as to make them almost unplayable. One can imagine couples of dancers whirling around frantically , as if to forget that Europe was on the brink of collapse. Dmitri Shostakovich did much the same, masking tragedy with brilliance by suggesting similarly unrestrained tempi. We have, however, chosen to temper them in order to allow the work’s dramatic depth to emerge more clearly.
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