"Kreutzer Sonata"

Deeply moved by Tolstoy’s stirring novella “Kreutzer Sonata”, Leoš Janá?ek composed a piano trio in 1908, which he however later burned. In October 1923, the String Quartet no. 1, a work again inspired by the novella, was then composed in barely three weeks. As so often the case with Janá?ek, an intensive process of revision followed, in which two quartet formations were also involved. The sources often do not make it clear whether the changes reflect Janá?ek’s ideas or were undertaken against his wishes. Janá?ek specialist Ji?í Zahrádka reviewed the material and tracked down sources that were thought to be lost. The musical text of this Urtext edition thus differs in many respects from what has been known up to now. The detailed texts comprehensively reappraise the complex history of its genesis and ensure maximum transparency of the editorial decisions – in short: At long last, an edition that fulfils the highest practical demands and provides musicians with authentic performance material for one of the most important string quartets of the twentieth century!