String Quartet in D major

In the wake of his first Grand Prix de Rome, won in 1897, Max d’Ollone composed the string quartet required by the Institute since 1894. In the field of chamber music, he only had the experience of his Scènes païennes for violin and piano (1895). His second chamber score, dedicated to his friend Henri Busser, was well received by the Journal officiel de la République française of 15 March 1900: “The first number, an Allegro in triple time, seems a little cold and monotonous, but it is well written and above all developed in a personal style. The second number, a scherzo, is a most happy one: its rhythm is charming, and the impression is exquisite. The following Adagio [sic] is full of deep feeling and expressive sonorities. The Allegro finale of this quartet is a clear and fresh inspiration, with a lively, brilliant execution.” Was it his passion for vocal music, and for opera in particular, that led the young composer to favour flowing, cantabile lines? The four movements, which are fairly short and of similar length, make use of a polymelodic writing that disregards traditional counterpoint. The opening, in triple time, hints at the waltz and rejects conflict. The scherzo introduces a new, more excited tone, yet still remembers to sing. In the slow movement, free of marked contrasts, the appoggiaturas and descending semitones give a restrained pain to certain passages. The swirling finale, after a discreetly popular beginning, ends with an astonishing coda: the tempo slows down and the work concludes in a very calm mood.