Black Holes and Snowy Mountains

The second movement Adagio is a three-part movement with a gypsy-inspired middle section.

II. Adagio

Ternary form

A series of three-note descents open the Adagio in the clarinet over quiet but lyric accompaniment from the strings. At 0:30 the first violin repeats the opening theme over slowly rolling bass figures. The clarinet plays a noncommittal figure (0:56) before it begins a countermelody to the soaring melody in the violin. A slow, rising scale from the clarinet signals its return to the spotlight with a series of descents (1:39) answered by string ascents. Theme one returns in the clarinet and violin (1:57). A lyric rising and falling violin solo at 2:12 ends the opening section.

An ominous F# low in the clarinet begins the middle section (2:32). The clarinet plays a figure based on theme one of the first movement before ascending to the high register. A long descent from the clarinet is followed by an introductory violin descent (2:58), which in turn clears the way for the clarinet’s gypsy-sounding passage. Longer sustains interrupted by rapid ascending and descending runs characterize this section. The subdued accompaniment provides a smooth backdrop to the clarinet’s colorful melody. At 3:19 a more lyric melody from the clarinet leads to more three-note figures from the violin. Fluttering descents and ascents in the clarinet rise and fall until the violin again plays three-note figures at 4:18.

The clarinet plays the third phrase of fluttering runs and restrained sustains before a more rhythm-based section begins at 5:00. Dotted rhythms in the clarinet are echoed by the strings as the accompaniment becomes more agitated. The passage ends with the three-note closing figure in the violin. A brief viola extension of the cadence at 5:43 leads to a rapid ascent and descent from the clarinet, repeated over a rising bass line. Rising strings begin to tremolo (6:16) as the clarinet plays a series of intervals followed by large descents. These intervals are embellished before a calm first violin reprises the opening theme’s three-note descent which is in turn echoed by the clarinet.

The return to lyricism at 6:50 goes much as it did in its original statement. The violin/clarinet duet at 7:47 loses none of its delicacy. Clarinet descents (8:20) lead back to theme one in the violin and clarinet in unison. A rising and falling violin line (8:54) leads to the coda.

Quietly rising and falling strings serve as a backdrop for a clarinet melody that is repeated by the viola. Slowly rising clarinet arpeggios end the movement with a major third descent.

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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Stanley Drucker’s 2001 recording on Elysium Records. Unfortunately this recording is prohibitively expensive, but I’ve linked to it anyways. As a suitable alternative, consider David Shifrin and the Emerson String Quartet’s 1999 recording on Deutsche Grammophone. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. You can also buy this recording from the iTunes Music Store by clicking on the button below.

This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage. If you enjoyed this summary or otherwise found it helpful, consider Stumbling it using the button below.

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Posted under: Culture by HP at 06/8/09 1:15 PM