Alan Hovhaness

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)

Nationality: American | Armenian
Born: March 8, 1911, Somerville, MA Died: June 21, 2000, Seattle, WA (age 89)
wikipedia

String Quartet No. 4, Op. 208, No. 2

(for 2 violins, viola and cello)
7:20 I. Adagio ma non troppo
2:21 II. Fugue
8:31 III. Adagio - Andante con moto - Allegro
Duration: 19 minutes (approximately)
Composed: 1964 (age 52-53)
1 recording, 3 videos
autoopen autoplay
7:20
Shanghai String Quartet
I. Adagio ma non troppo
2:21
Shanghai String Quartet
II. Fugue
8:31
Shanghai String Quartet
III. Adagio - Andante con moto - Allegro

Related Composers

1900 WWI WWII Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000)
Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
Teacher
Nationality: Czech | Bohemian
Born: December 8, 1890, Polička, Bohemia Died: August 28, 1959, Liestal, Switzerland (age 68)

glossary

  • adagio [It]—slow tempo, often implying a lyrical, poignant character
  • allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
  • andante [I]—moderately slow tempo (e.g. walking). Faster than adagio but slower than allegretto
  • chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
  • con [I,S]—with
  • fugue, fuga, fuge [G], fuguette, fugen [G,pl]—a contrapuntal procedure (form) involving a musical subject (theme) that is successively imitated by multiple overlapping voices. There is a vast canon of rules (concepts) for creating elaborate and diverse fugues with an infinite variety of character based on fairly specific parameters. Fugues (or partial fugato) are found throughout classical music from the late Renaissance to the present.
  • ma—but, however
  • opus [L], opera[pl], Op., Opp, WoO, Op. posth—work, as in a work of art. For unique identification, publishers/composers often assign an "opus number", abbreviated as "Op." (e.g. Op. 1). A range of works by opus number, uses the plural "opp." (e.g. "Opp. 1-3"). A single opus number may refer to a collection of works (e.g. a set of quartets) giving rise to designations like "Op. 1, No. 4". For misc. works without opus numbers, "WoO" is often used (e.g."Without Opus"). Posthumously assigned numbers may use "Op. posth". Opus numbers may not precisely reflect chronology (publication vs. composition), can be erroneous, sparse or duplicative. Thus, the works of some historically important composers may use separate catalog numbers (e.g. Bach, Haydn, Schubert). See wiki
  • quartet, quatuor [F], quartett [G], quartetto [I], cuarteto [S]—ensemble or work for four players the most important examples being the string quartet and the piano quartet
  • string quartet, Streichquartett [G], quatuor à cordes [F], quartetto d'archi [I], quartetto di cordi [I], cuarteto de cuerda [S], vonósnégyes [H]—an ensemble as well as music written for that ensemble comprising 2 violins, viola and cello. This is one of the essential genres / forms / ensembles of chamber music and arguably a critical "core" of "classical" music.
    Explore the string quartet.
  • troppo [I], non troppo, trop [F]—too, too much. non troppo means "not too much". e.g. "Allegro ma non troppo" means fast, but not too much