Józef Elsner - String Quartet No. 3 in D-Minor (Equilibrium SQ)

Józef Elsner - Trzeci kwartet smyczkowy
Op. 8/3 - Around 1789

Equilibrium String Quartet:
Violin I: Sulamita Ślubowska
Violin II: Małgorzata Malke
Viola: Anna Nowak-Pokrzywińska
Cello: Tomasz Pokrzywiński

Engraving: Reinhard Greeven

0:00 - I. Allegro
7:51 - II. Andantino
11:49 - III. Rondo: Allegro

Known mostly for his role in educating Chopin and Dobrzyński, Józef Elsner (1769-1854) was one of the leading educators of a generation of early romantic composers in Poland. While his educational role was his most important contribution of note from a historical perspective, he was also a surprisingly original composer [1] in spite of his dedication to the ideals of Classicism and a critical figure in the musical life of Warsaw.

Elsner was born near what was then Breslau where he sang in church choirs and learned to play violin and basso continuo [2]. After a short-lived stint in a Dominican monastery school in Breslau, Elsner embarked on a journey to become a medical professional which was ironically cut short by an extended illness. During his medical studies, he was exposed to the music of Vienna which mixed with his Silesian, Czech, and German background [3]. After recovering from his illness, he decided to move to Brno to become a violinist [2]. A year later, he moved to Lwów where he was a conductor for four years before finally putting down roots in Warsaw in 1799. It was in Warsaw where Elsner's importance grew. He was a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory, a conductor at the Warsaw National Theater and even a music printer for a brief time.

Elsner's aesthetic values were those of the Classical era which valued the balance offered by sonata form to most effectively express one's self because Elsner valued, above all, both expressiveness and the cohesiveness of form which allowed it to be seen as a whole [4]. He detested the notion of playing any singular entry of a cycle alone because of the act's destruction of the cycle. He also saw vocal music as the highest standard of music, seeing instruments in terms of their ability to mimic the human voice. It was for this reason that he preferred the violin to the piano and emphasized vocal works, writing thirty eight (!!!) operas [3]. He even desired that Chopin not be known only as a performer and a composer for the piano because it was "easy and less meaningful" and that his genius could only achieve "immortality" from composing opera [5]. But in spite of this, he saw instrumental music's value in reaching the heart directly [4]. His criticism of it was that touching of the heart by instrumental music was fleeting and not particularly memorable. For Elsner, the symphony was the instrumental form most likely to endure from generation to generation, so he valued it especially, writing eight symphonies.

Having set the stage for Elsner's own approach to music, one may wonder how he could have formed the mind of Chopin who, at a glance, seems diametrically opposed to Elsner's aesthetic values. Chopin himself wrote that "With Messrs Żywny and Elsner, even a half-wit would learn. [6]" How was this possible? Elsner himself revealed the answer when he wrote: "When teaching composition, one should never provide recipes, particularly with pupils of obvious ability if they wish to rise above themselves, they must find their own, so that they may have the means of discovering that which has not been discovered yet. [7]" Despite Elsner's own viewpoints, he recognized Chopin's genius and knew when to get out of the way [1]. He taught Chopin all of the theory he needed to while steering him in the direction of Hummel and Field, but above all, Chopin inherited from Elsner's classicism a devotion to Mozart. In a seemingly paradoxical way, it was Elsner's light touch and gentle classicism that formed the groundwork for the soft poetry of Chopin's romanticism. With time, however, Elsner acclimated to Romanticism, as for Elsner, music was always primarily a means of expressing one's heart [4].

[1] A. Zamoyski. Chopin: Prince of the Romantics. HarperPress. 2010.
[2] M. Kosińska. Józef Antoni Franciszek Elsner. Culture.pl. Polish Music Information Center. Polish Composer's Union. 2006.
[3] "Elsner, Józef," Encyklopedia Polski, Kraków, Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczyński. p. 154. 1996.
[4] B. Stróżyńska. Józef Elsner jako twórca i propagator klasycznej symfonii. Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska: Akademia Muzyczna w Łodzi. Vol. XIII, 2. 2015
[5] L. Chopin. Ludwik Chopin to Fryderyk Chopin. 27/XI/1831.
[6] J. Elsner. Elsner to Chopin. KFC Vol. I, p. 72. 27/XI/1831.
[7] F. Chopin. Letter to Parents. ibid. p 96. 19/VIII/1829