Frohlich: Complete String Quartets

Frohlich: Complete String Quartets

Early Romantic Quartets from Switzerland The string quartets of the Aargau composer Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich form a unique contribution in this genre to musical early romanticism in Switzerland. However, so far only one of these four works has been edited. The manuscripts of his other quartets currently continue to be housed in the Basel University Library. When poor health forced him to abandon his law studies, Fröhlich took compositional lessons in Aarau and then received instruction from Goethes friend Carl Friedrich Zelter and Bernhard Klein in Berlin, where he also met Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. He was the most promising young talent of Swiss romanticism, but when his musical activity failed to meet with recognition, he threw himself into the Aare on 16 October 1836. Fröhlichs music is distinguished by refreshing and natural melodies, a special feel for simplicity combined with compelling effects, and rich in emotional expression and unexpected modulations in the harmonic sphere