Presents
Alfred Hill
String Quartet No.4 in c minor
Had Alfred Hill (1869-1960) been a European or even an American composer, surely he and his music would be better known than they are today. It was his misfortune to be an Australian and virtually all of his wonderful music is unknown outside of that country and New Zealand where he also spent several years. Hill was born in Melbourne but his family left for Wellington, New Zealand when he was three. It was there he studied the violin and trumpet eventually winning the chance to study at the Leipzig Conservatory where he graduated with honors in 1891, winning a prize in both composition and performance. His playing made an impression on Carl Reinecke (the Conservatory’s director and the conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra) who drafted Hill into the violin section of that famous orchestra while he was a student. Reinecke and Hans Sitt were Hill’s composition teachers, the former for chamber music. After his sojourn in Europe, Hill returned first to New Zealand to take up a conducting job in Wellington. In 1910, he settled in Sydney where he served as a professor at the New South Wales Conservatory for much of the rest of his life. He wrote in virtually every genre and has to his credit 10 operas, 13 symphonies, several concertos, choral works, sonatas and as well as a great deal of chamber music, including 17 string quartets. Hill's musical language often brings Dvorak and Tchaikovsky to mind but he blends it the native melodies of New Zealand and Australia to achieve a fresh and appealing effect that reveals a wealth of original ideas.
String Quartet No.4 in c minor was completed in 1916 by which time Hill was living in Sydney and teaching at the New South Wales Conservatory. It was dedicated to Henri Verbrugghen and the members of the Verbrugghen String Quartet. Verbrugghen, a Belgian violinist and conductor, was the first director of the newly founded NSW Conservatory. Although the Quartet was completed in 1916, nearly half, the last half, of the quartet was composed between 1890 and 1891 when Hill was living in Leipzig. Unlike his first three string quartets, No.4 is not a programmatic work. The first movement, Allegro, opens with a slow, chromatic and somewhat diffident, downcast introduction. The Allegro which follows is energetic and full of forward motion, with the theme moving back and forth between the cello and the first violin. The second movement, Adagio ma non troppo, has a rather romantic subject followed by a set of variations. In third place is a lively, playful Scherzo. The trio section provides a strong contrast not only in tempo but also in mood. The 6/8 rhythm of the finale, Allegro con spirito, creates a rocking quality to the music which is exciting and full of appealing themes.
The this is a first rate work which should be brought into the concert hall as it is sure to please audiences that get a chance to hear it. But this is also a work which will give much pleasure to amateur groups. We are grateful to the National Library of Australia who provided us with a copy of the manuscript from which our senior editors, Garik Hayrapetyan and Santo Neuenwelt, made the score and parts.
Parts: $29.95
Parts & Score: $38.95
