Donizetti

S T R I N G Q UA RT E T S

Quartetto Delfico
Gaetano Donizetti 1797-1848 Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) certainly owes his fame and success to his operatic
String Quartets output (L’Elisir d’amore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Pasquale, La figlia del
reggimento), but few know that he was also a prolific composer of string quartets,
String Quartet No.15 in F String Quartet No 18 in E minor and was certainly the most important Italian composer of the genre in the nineteenth
1. I. Andante – Allegro 6’49 9. I. Allegro 11’09 century. In fact, Donizetti wrote as many as 18 complete quartets between 1817 and
2. II. Andante 3’18 10. II. Adagio 6’40 1836, which add up to a total of about 22 if the incomplete works are included.
3. III. Minuetto. Presto 3’28 11. III. Minuetto. Presto 3’54 Quartet No.15 in F is not dated but graphic and aesthetic clues suggest it was
4. IV. Largo – Allegro 6’05 12. IV. Allegro giusto 7’02 composed between 1819 and 1821. Quartets No.17 in D and No.18 in E minor were
both composed in Naples, in 1825 and 1836 respectively; the first movement of the
String Quartet No.17 in D latter was later employed in the sinfonia of Linda de Chamounix in 1842. Autographs
5. I. Allegro 9’50 of all Donizetti’s quartets survive; they are preserved at three different locations: the
6. II. Larghetto 3’34 Museo Donizettiano in Bergamo, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the Library
7. III. Minuetto. Presto 3’24 of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples.
8. IV. Allegro 6’48 Donizetti’s interest in the string quartet can certainly be attributed to his early years
of musical training, which he spent between Bergamo and Bologna: in particular, his
key influences during that period were Giovanni Simone Mayr (1763-1845), Padre
Stanislao Mattei (1750-1825) and Antonio Capuzzi (1755-1818).
Mayr, Bavarian by birth, was a teacher and mentor; through him Donizetti was
acquainted with the great European instrumental tradition, learned how to treat
Quartetto Delfico string instruments, and acquired a speed in composing and developing musical
Mauro Massa, Andrea Vassalle violins material that was already recognized by his contemporaries. Padre Mattei, among
Gerardo Vitale viola the most learned musicians of the time, transmitted to him a profound knowledge
Federico Toffano cello of fugue and counterpoint, while Capuzzi, already a pupil of Tartini and a skilled
violinist, shared with him his instrumental and performing experience.
Various epistolary sources reveal that Donizetti frequented the home of Alessandro
Bertoli (a very active amateur violinist in Bergamo), where his quartets, as well as
those by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, were performed on a weekly basis during
musical gatherings, and he himself often participated as an instrumentalist (probably
on viola). Marco Bonesi, a violinist and fellow student of Donizetti in Bergamo,

Recording: 8-12 September 2020, Chiesa di San Bartolomeo, Nomaglio (TO), Italy
Producer and Sound Engineer: Andrea Dandolo
Artist photo: © Vera Munzi
Cover: Portrait of Gaetano Donizetti (1837) by Francesco Coghetti (1801-1875)
℗ & © 2023 Brilliant Classics
writes in his Cenni Biografici, “he was never satiated with feeding on those classical
compositions to come to discover the mastery of being able to compose in that way.
Indeed, he once told me, to my surprise: on the first evening I shall bring a Quartet
composed in the manner of Haydn, and so he did; and another in the manner of
Beethoven manner, in the manner of Krommer….”
It is clear that from a young age Donizetti had the opportunity to become
acquainted with the noble and scholarly musical form of the string quartet, which was
not widely cultivated in Italy at the beginning of the nineteenth century, to which he
devoted himself whenever he was free from contractual commitments for the theatre.
His quartets remained virtually unknown until the mid-19th century, when they
began to circulate in Europe thanks to the interest of distinguished musicians such
as Giovanni Bottesini and Antonio Bazzini. Music critics immediately displayed a
controversial reception of them; in Paris, in 1856, the critic of the Revue et Gazette
Musicale wrote an enthusiastic review, “the science of music displays itself in them
everywhere on a par with inspiration. The interweaving of the parts reveals a
masterful hand and produces fascinating results. The harmony is always pure and
elevated, without ceasing to be clear in the fugal passages.” However, others simply
report, “pleasing evidence of an effusive personality” or “deserving of demonstrations
of regard and tribute”.
From a formal, aesthetic point of view, we can certainly consider Donizetti a
classical composer in every way. The great masters represented a point of reference
for him, a model he could refer to. Nevertheless, he never imitated them tout-court.
The differences between Donizetti’s compositional choices and Viennese style are quite
distinct in formal structure, distribution of the parts, and musical quality. His quartets
show a peculiar coherence and craft, and his musical ideas, their development and the
manner instruments are treated fully adhere to such distinctiveness. This may often be
attributed to his personal theatrical taste, to the extent that one can almost recognize
real Donizettian opera scenes among the pages of these quartets.
Each individual quartet displays its own individuality with a varied musical
imagination, which is never repetitive or stereotyped. For Donizetti, being inspired
by the classical string quartet meant capturing the primary emotional aspect, the
generating cell at the heart of great Viennese musical literature, and not simply
reproducing its outward sonic effect. His was an attempt to approach a musical milieu
which was far removed from the Italian one, to which he nevertheless felt to be a core
participant, whether by training or by temperament.
The formal compositional element that Donizetti took from the Viennese school
was: “to spare the imagination and conduct a piece with few ideas”, as he himself
wrote in a letter to his friend Antonio Dolci from Vienna in 1842. Such technical
ability enabled one to compose an entire quartet by working on just a few elements,
always being able to create new themes and episodes from skillfully transforming
and regenerating the same cells. Haydn was a master of this technique, who was able
to develop all the thematic episodes of a quartet from the same germinal cell, which
served as a unique principle of all four movements. Donizetti demonstrates that he
has assimilated the lesson, and can use thematic elaboration with great ease. However,
a comparison with Haydn or the other masters of Viennese classicism remains
inappropriate: in the development of his quartets Donizetti never reaches the depth of
those he was modelling. Nonetheless, it is fascinating to note how Donizetti remains
faithful to the inventiveness and “ease” in listening that distinguishes all of his great
instrumental and operatic output. It is also noteworthy to stress that the quartets were
never written for publication, but solely and only for the composer’s own pleasure,
thus resulting in one of the most genuine expressions of the Bergamasque genius.
Quartets Nos. 15, 17, 18 follow the classical pattern in four movements: Allegro,
Adagio, Minuetto, Finale.
The first movements are in sonata form and are the most expansive of all; the
exposition, which is usually highly elaborate, features a classically elegant first subject
and writing which is often brilliant and virtuosic; the second subject is frequently
derived from the first (cf. quartet No.15), and is more lyrical in style.
The second movements are always in a slow tempo with a two-part structure,
usually retaining the key of the first movement (cf. quartet Nos. 15, 17), but
sometimes in a foreign key (cf. quartet No.18). An interesting textural atmosphere is
achieved through the use of pizzicati and dynamic experimentation, always aimed at
recreating the atmosphere of an operatic scene.
The third movements are in a Minuet and Trio form, however, the brilliant
character of the writing and the chosen tempo indication (Presto or Prestissimo), in
all respects turn them into Scherzo movements reminiscent of Beethoven’s Quartets
Op.18. Harmonically speaking, the Minuet is in the key of the initial Allegro while
the Trio is in a different key, according to a traditional relationship.
The last movements are in the form of a bi-thematic sonata without development,
sometimes with a final fugato and with structural choices similar to those of the first
movement. The key is usually that of the first movement, and with the introduction of
a maggiore if in a minor mode (cf. Quartets Nos. 15, 17).
© Giuseppe Pascucci
Translation: Beatrice Scaldini
Special thanks to Giuseppe Zilioli for the great support
and to Valeria Brunelli, who was with us from the start.
Quartetto Delfico was created by four friends united by their common passion for
the most classic form of chamber music: the string quartet. Its members, all of them
working with various symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles specialized in
historically informed performance, embarked on their own path by promoting the
discovery of Italian repertoire for string quartet alongside great classical and romantic
repertoire. They are passionate readers and researchers of treaties and sources, and
believe that study on period instruments is an essential component in the process of
defining their own identity.
The quartet has studied with Hatto Beyerle and Alessandro Moccia.
They have played in many festivals such as Unione Musicale in Turin, Maggio
Musicale Fiorentino, Concerti at Quirinale-Radio Tre, Festival del Quartetto di
Gropina, Gioventù Musicale Italiana, Amuz in Antwerp, Miry Conzertzaal in Gent
(Belgium), Kalkalpen Festival (Austria), Concerts a Saint Germain, Geneve (CH).
In June 2014 Brilliant Classics released its first album with Quartetto Delfico:
“Vincenzo Manfredini, Complete String Quartets”.
The quartet also collaborates with various wind instrumentalists in order to expand
its repertoire. Following this collaboration, in October 2017 their second album,
“Paris 1804”, recorded together with the horn player Alessandro Denabian, was
released by Passacaille.
From left to right: Andrea Vassalle, Federico Toffano, Gerardo Vitale, Mauro Massa