String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15

Written by Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) between 1913 and 1915, STRING QUARTET No. 2, Op. 15 is an early work by the Austrian composer and close colleague, friend, and brother-in-law of Arnold Schoenberg. While Zemlinsky’s music customarily reflected his pleasant nature, this string quartet expresses numerous tragic events that had happened in the previous fifteen years, resulting in a much more turbulent work. As those tragic events involved Zemlinsky’s sister and Schoenberg’s wife, Mathilde, the composer used the mutual love of musical numerology to offer an apology to Schoenberg in the music itself for blaming him for the recent tragedies. The work saw its first performance in Vienna in 1918. Reprint of the original edition.