Presents
Oskar Nedbal
Valse Triste for String Quartet
Oskar Nedbal (1874-1930) was born in the Czech town of Tabor. He studied violin and composition, the latter with Dvorak, at the Prague Conservatory. A fine violinist, he was a founding member of the famous Bohemian String Quartet and also served as conductor of the Prague Philharmonic for over a decade.
His famous Valse Triste comes from his ballet suite Pohadka o Honzov (Tale of Honza) more commonly known in English as the Tale of Simple Johnny. The ballet suite was composed in 1902 for orchestra. However, Nedbal on the recommendation of his fellow quartet players decided to make an arrangement for string quartet. This was done in 1907 and ever since it has become a popular encore piece. The two string quartet ensembles which originally premiered and popularized it were Nedbal's own Bohemian Quartet and the Ševčík-Lhotský String Quartet, named after the famous Czech violin soloist and very influential teacher Otakar Ševčík. (Lhotský and the other players had all studied with Ševčík). Surprisingly, we have only been able to find one recording of the work in the quartet arrangement. It is by the famous Ševčík-Lhotský String Quartet some time around WWI. As a result the sound quality is not up to modern standards and the playing of Lhotsky with its portamento style is of yesteryear and no longer in vogue.
Parts: $10.95
