Joseph Marx (1882-1964) was born in the Austrian provincial capital of Graz. He studied violin, cello, and piano at Graz’s Buwa's Music School and then attended Graz University, where he took degrees in philosophy and art history, all the while composing music. In the realm of composition, he was largely self-taught. Most of his compositions at this time were art songs, or Lieder, and gained him a wide audience, so much so that he was hailed as the successor to Schubert and Hugo Wolf as a song composer. On the strength of these works, he obtained the position of professor of theory at the Vienna Music Academy (Hochschule fur Musik) and later served as its rector. He was also an adviser to the Turkish government in laying the foundations of a conservatory in Ankara. Marx's music drew from many sources. He could be called a late romantic impressionist. Although one can hear certain affinities with the music of Debussy, Scriabin, Delius, Ravel, Respighi, Jongen, Richard Strauss, Reger, Korngold, Brahms, Mahler, and Bruckner, his sound is nonetheless his own.
Marx did not begin to compose a string quartet until he was 54 in 1936. It is not clear why he chose to wait so long or why he decided to write three string quartets one after the other. The first he titled Quartetto Chromatico and as the title suggests, in it he explores chromaticism to its fullest extent. In 1938, he completed his second quartet, which he titled Quartetto Antico. Here, he presented a tribute to medieval composers such as Palestrina and Lasso, whom he very much admired. His third and final quartet was completed in 1941, the delay being occasioned by the outbreak of the Second World War. This quartet he titled Quartetto in modo Classico.
As the title suggests, the work takes the music of the leading composers of the Viennese Classical era—Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven—and presents it in an updated modern interpretation. The main theme of the opening movement, Allegro con brio, is unmistakably inspired by Mozart. The music at times almost sounds as if Mozart might have written had he been alive in the 20th century. It is bright and cheerful, though certainly more romantic. The second movement, Adagio ma non troppo, is more modern-sounding in the form of an elegy; it sounds more romantic than classical. Third comes a Tempo di menuetto. It is a modern take on the classical Viennese minuet, but again quite romantic and full of elegance except for a brief rustic interlude. The lyrical finale, Poco presto, is a romp in 6/8, which has much more in common with the late Romantic era composers like Hugo Wolf and Richard Strauss than Mozart and Haydn. The middle section is marked Serenaden and sounds almost as if it had been written by Fritz Kreisler.
Long unavailable, we are pleased to reintroduce fine work which would do well in concert but can also be warmly recommended to amateur players
