String Quartet No. 4 (Oswald)
The String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 46, by Henrique Oswald was finished between July and August 1921. It is the composer's last major chamber work. Approximate duration is 15 minutes. History In 1921 Oswald was already 69 years old. According to José Eduardo Martins, this quartet is a synthesis of his entire chamber production, with its musical texture being extremely pure. On this composition Oswald's wife Laudômia wrote in her diary: "The daddy's Quartet is modern, splendid, especially the Adagio (November 29)." Same year he composed the Étude for the left hand alone. The quartet had bad luck in Rio de Janeiro. On the contrary, a performance in São Paulo in February 1927 was highly successful. Composer Ernani Braga commented it: "One can't say which of the three movements of this quartet to admire more. The inspiration flows clearly and spontaneously, as if it were coming from wonderful and inexhaustible anciets seas. The contrapuntal texture, although thick, never loses the qualities of clarity, which are essential." The fourth quartet was the last major chamber work by Oswald. In June 1927 he tried his hand with another string quartet (Op. 47), of which he sketched two versions, but