Lebensbilder aus Kriegszeiten. Zoltán Kodálys 2. Streichquartett op. 10

Dalos, Anna (2015) Lebensbilder aus Kriegszeiten. Zoltán Kodálys 2. Streichquartett op. 10. In: Zoltán Kodálys Kammermusik. Studien zur Wertungsforschung, 1 (57). Universal Edition, Wien, pp. 179-196. ISBN 978-3-7024.7283-2

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Abstract

Zoltán Kodály composed his String Quartet no. 2 at the end of World War I. Its unusual form – two contrasting movements – comprises the possibility of interpreting the function and hidden narrative of the piece in markedly different ways. Contrary to earlier explanations, my study aims at revealing the cultural-political-aesthetical context of the composition and the compositional process. It is based on the interpretation of Kodály’s musical criticism and studies, above all on Béla Bartók’s Second String Quartet and the pentatonic layer of Hungarian folk music, as well as his readings, particularly the war-novels of the contemporary writer Zsigmond Móricz whom he admired extraordinarily. In my opinion the experiences gained during the war must have been decisive for Kodály in creating a new interpretation of modern Hungarian music abounding in references to the glorious Hungarian past. While the first movement is built on ‘feminine’ chromaticism and melodiousness, the second movement represents ‘masculine’ dance-series opening the door to a new, strong, and emphatically man-orientated world.

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