Stanford's String Quartet No.5 in B flat Major, Op.104 was completed in 1907 and was dedicated to the memory of his friend, the famous violinist, Joseph Joachim, who had died earlier that year. Although the work was 'In Memoriam', Stanford noted, that except for the third movement, the quartet was not meant to be sad because "Joachim was not the sort of man whose memory could be associated with sadness." And the opening movement, Allegro moderato, certainly can in no way be considered sad. It is an energetic and thrusting affair. In the second movement, Intermezzo, allegretto, Stanford further instructs the players to perform the music sempre molto teneramente, that is, with added feeling and affection. The slow movement, Adagio peasante, is a very intense elegy. The finale, Allegro moderato, dispels the sorrowful mood of the preceding movement and features, as a tribute, a passage from an early work by Joachim, which takes a prominent role in the movement.
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was without question one of Britain's most important 19th and early 20th century composers. He was fortunate in being able to study under two of the leading teachers of his day: Carl Reinecke in Leipzig and Friedrich Kiel in Berlin. Upon his return to England, he helped found an English national style and contributed to the renaissance of British music. This was particularly true in the realm of chamber music where Stanford almost single-handedly jump-started the British repertoire. Among his many students were Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Herbert Howells, Frank Bridge, Ernst Moeran, Arthur Bliss, and Percy Grainger. During his lifetime, he and his compositions were held in the highest regard. After his death, he was unfairly attacked for having been too heavily influenced by Brahms.
