a tune, in the usual meaning of that word; but, all the same, it is a musical idea full of real vitality, which clings to the memory with all the power of the finest tune that was ever written. It is in this light that the later works of Beethoven, and, to name another of the giants, those of Brahms, should be viewed.
No doubt a composer may produce certain effects by progressions of harmony which can hardly be regarded as a tune. For example, the following motive from the first act of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung:—
To call this a tune would be straining language, but none the less if a composer be possessed of what we call genius, such phrases will (as this does) produce on the mind of the listener an effect in all respects as vivid as that which the most fully developed melody produces under other musical conditions. The idea of a true composer is strong, and therefore it succeeds.
But it will doubtless be in the reader’s mind to ask what all this has to do with a String Quartett by an unknown composer. This merely, that without claiming for him the most exalted rank, Gretchaninoff possesses the gift of tune, and on this account, as well as by reason of his sound musicianship, what he has done deserves attention.
This Quartett, op. 2, is in classical form, and consists of the usual four movements. It commences with a short andante, whose opening phrase, played by the four instruments in unison, is:—
