This is the second of a series of brief posts about Bartók’s great String Quartet No. 4. Today, we look at the two quicker movements that surround the “night music” of the central third movement [you can read about that movement here].
The second movement, marked Prestissimo, con sordino, is for the most part a very quiet movement, but extremely fast. In 6/8 time, it races from beginning to end, not giving either the performers or the audience a chance to catch their breath until it dissolves into the ether at its close. Pizzicato dexterity is given a difficult test in this movement, calling for measured strumming in order to get the notes to speak in the tempo required. One of the most striking effects is the use of staggered glissandi amongst the four instruments, resulting in an otherworldly sonority.
The fourth movement, marked Allegretto pizzicato, seems to have little relation to the second movement, but it is in fact a diatonic rendering of the previous movement’s chromatic melody:
It is also notable for being the first composition in which Bartók calls for the so-called “Bartók pizzicato” where the string is plucked upwards and released so that it rebounds from the fingerboard with a snapping sound. Playful moods predominate this movement.
