Uploaded January 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago

---

Composer: Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 -- 4 September 1907)
Performers: Raphael Quartet [Ronald Hoogeveen (violin), Ramy Koch (violin), Zoltan Benyacz (viola), Henk Lambooij (cello)]

String Quartet No. 2 in F Major, EG 117, written in 1890(1)- [Fragment]

00:00 - I. Sostenuto – Allegro vivace e grazioso
09:26 - II. Allegro scherzando*

*Third and fourth movements are incomplete -only sketches left-, but there is a complete version with all movements by Julius Röntgen, Grieg's friend. For Röntgen's version, see below the description.

After leaving Copenhagen Grieg never again had the time or the peace necessary to finish this work, the String Quartet No 2 in F major. For the rest of his life we can see that his conscience was troubled by this unfinished music—‘that accursed string quartet which constantly lies there like an old Norwegian cheese’ (letter to Brodsky, 1895).
In 1903 Grieg wrote to the Leipzig publishers Peters: ‘You probably remember me mentioning an unfinished string quartet? I had intended to finish it, but these last years have brought so much, both physically and spiritually, that I wasn’t motivated to proceed with this cheerful work—quite the opposite of opus 27. But I hope to find the long-sought tranquility and inclination this summer.’ Then in 1906, just a year before his death, he wrote to Brodsky: ‘If only I could at least finish the string quartet for you!’ In 1907, at the time of his death, there were still only two movements and some sketches for the rest. The following year Grieg’s Dutch friend, Julius Röntgen, acquired the manuscripts from Grieg’s wife, Nina, and edited the first two movements for Peters.

Röntgen also arranged a special ‘premiere’ of the String Quartet in F major in his home. In a letter to Nina Grieg, dated November 1907, he wrote: ‘You should have been with us last evening! We played the quartet. It was strange to sit there and realize that now it was being heard for the first time, and that Edvard himself never got to hear it. But now you must hear who made up the quartet. It was unusual. Harold Bauer, the great pianist, played first violin and really did a fine job. Pablo Casals played second violin and held the violin between his legs just like a cello. I played the viola, and Mrs Casals played the cello in a remarkable way. All four of us were filled with the greatest excitement—with my wife as the only audience!’
[hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W8100_67117]

Original Audio: youtube.com/watch?v=s_VJfxec1fw