Classical Lyricism & Fervour: Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga y Balzola String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major

Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga y Balzola was known as the ‘Spanish Mozart’ – not just because of his easily accessible and lyrical style of writing, but also because he was considered to be a child prodigy. Tragically he died at the age of nineteen, and thus is as much recognised for his potential as his actual compositions. Arriaga’s String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major boldly challenges the Haydn-Mozart models to align more closely with the harmonic style of Louis Spohr. Composed when Arriaga was just seventeen, the subjects of each movement vary dramatically from lyrical to intensely driven. The program concludes with Felix Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2 in A minor (Op. 13) – the work displays influences of Beethoven throughout, and is most noted for its passionate harmonic intensity and youthful fervour in its melodic themes.