String Quartet No. 2 (Borodin)


The String Quartet No. 2 is a string quartet in D major written by Alexander Borodin in 1881. It was dedicated to his wife Ekaterina Protopova. Some scholars, such as Borodin's biographer Serge Dianin, suggest that the quartet was a 20th anniversary gift and that it has a program evoking the couple's first meeting in Heidelberg. Of its four movements, the third movement "Notturno" is the most famous.

History

Borodin wrote the string quartet quickly in 1881 while staying at the estate of his friend, the minor composer Nikolai Lodyzhensky, which was located in Zhitovo, southeast of Moscow. Borodin also composed the symphonic poem In the Steppes of Central Asia the same year. The quartet premiered in that year or the next.

Music

The string quartet has four movements:
  1. Allegro moderato in D major and 2/2 time, with 304 bars;
  2. Scherzo. Allegro in F major and 3/4 time, with 299 bars;
  3. Notturno : Andante in A major and 3/4 time, with 180 bars;
  4. Finale: Andante — Vivace in D major and 2/4 time, with 671 bars.

    First movement

The first movement is written in sonata form. The principal theme of the exposition begins in measure one, with a cello singing a lyrical melody in high register.
The transition begins in measure 35, and quickly leads into the subordinate theme in A major, the dominant.
The subordinate theme has a complex structure, a three-part form of its own, which leads into the closing theme in measure 86, which concludes the exposition in measure 107. The development begins with the same material as the exposition, except the cello is in the low register, and the key is changed from D major to F major. After some contrapuntal work, the development reaches a dominant pedal point, which resolves in the main key of the piece, D major, in the recapitulation in measure 180. The recapitulation follows the broad outlines of the exposition, except the subordinate theme begins in E-flat major instead of the customary D major. The three-part structure of the subordinate theme, though, allows Borodin to reach the expected D major in the a' part of the subordinate theme, and the closing theme concludes the movement.
The first movement exemplifies Borodin's lyrical treatment of the sonata form. All thematic material is lyrical; contrasts are achieved via contrapuntal writing, or color contrasts.

Second movement

The scherzo second movement is also in sonata form, rather than the ABA form that is more usual for scherzo-style movements. Of note is also the appearance of a scherzo as the second movement in a sonata cycle, rather than the more customary third movement. This is characteristic for Borodin, who used the same movement scheme in his Second Symphony.
The principal theme of this movement reminds one of Mendelssohn's scherzi.

\version "2.14.2"
\relative c

The "rising thirds" motif of the subordinate theme is an inversion of the viola's accompanying falling motif.

\version "2.14.2"
\relative c'

The descending scale-based figure of the subordinate theme, repeated by viola starting with measure 51, recalls the principal theme. The movement's development begins at measure 100 and emphasizes counterpoint in combining the motives of the principal and subordinate themes. The recapitulation brings the subordinate theme in the main key of F, and, after a momentary burst of activity, the movement whispers away.
The tuneful subordinate theme of this movement was freely used in the musical Kismet'' as the song “Baubles, Bangles and Beads.” This musical received the 1954 Tony Award.

Third movement

The main theme of the third movement is perhaps the most famous in the quartet. An agitated middle section, beginning in F major, followed by a series of modulations and lasting from bars 47–110 of the movement, interrupts this theme's otherwise peaceful mood. The main theme is restated after the middle section in canon.

Finale

The finale demonstrates Borodin's mastery of counterpoint. Written in a conventional sonata form, it opens with an introduction, which introduces the principal theme, broken into two elements: a dialogue between two violins, answered by a viola and cello. These "question-answer" motifs combine into the principal theme of the movement, where the "answer" makes an accompaniment, and the "question" makes for the upper voice. The principal theme is stated as a canon, with viola, second violin, and first violin stating the theme, which modulates into a dominant, and lead into the subordinate theme in measure 90. The subordinate theme retains the frantic pace of the principal theme, to be contrasted with a more relaxed closing theme, based on the motifs of the subordinate theme, at measure 177. The development starts similar to the exposition with the question-answer dialogue, except the question now is in lower strings, and the answer in violins. After much contrapuntal work, the recapitulation begins with the now familiar question-answer motifs, this time enunciated by the combined strings. The recapitulation proceeds as expected, only to be suddenly shifted into another key by the beginning of the coda. But this modulation proves to be short-lived, and the coda quickly reaches the long-breathed D major close.

Recordings

The Borodin Quartet in both its incarnations have specialized in this work, producing recordings of it.
The Emerson Quartet also produced a well-known recording in 1986.
The Escher String Quartet released a recording in 2018.

In popular culture

Many parts of the piece were adapted into the 1953 Broadway musical Kismet
The third movement serves as the score to Disney's 2006 short The Little Matchgirl.
Excerpt of the piece played in the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery