U of C String Quartet

Alexander Borodin - String Quartet #2

The Quartet's popularity is undoubtedly due to its warm amorous lyricism and beautiful melodies. Concerning the melody in the second movement, Borodin explained that he "attempted to conjure up an impression of a light hearted evening spent in one of the suburban pleasure gardens of St. Petersburg." The melody is probably most familiar to American audiences as being the basis for the song Baubles, Bangles and Beads from the musical Kismet. The third movement, Notturno, was also used in Kismet as the song, And This Is My Beloved. This movement is even more popular in the string orchestra transcription, and that arrangement has far outnumbered recordings of the complete Quartet.

Bach - Gavotte from Partita No. 1 in B minor.

It is not known whether Bach's works were performed during his lifetime, or, if they were, who was the performer. Johann Georg Pisendel and Jean-Baptiste Volumier, both talented violinists in the Dresden court, have been suggested as possible performers, as was Joseph Speiss, leader of the orchestra in Köthen. Friedrich Wilhelm Rust, who would later became part of the Bach family circle in Leipzig, also became a likely candidate.[2] Bach himself also possibly gave the first performance. According to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, "in his youth, and until the approach of old age, he played the violin cleanly and powerfully".