Bergamo, Petar: The String Quartet

The String Quartet / Quartetto d’archi is an early work by Petar Bergamo, created in 1958 towards the end of his studies. It follows the Classical-Romantic tradition while also reflecting the works of leading composers of the first half of the 20th century, embodying a symbiosis of his acquired experiences, personal reflections on the composing process, and his already shaped expression. Bergamo approached the challenge of constructing a traditional genre composition relying on the well-established four-movement form, systematically, but which is still open to new trends, placing emphasis on the clarity of content, sumptuous colour and dramatic polyphonic threads in the work, deftly creating authentic individual parts of a cohesive whole. His intention was to create an easily recognizable work for listeners, effortlessly blending the familiar and common with the new and different. Partly relying on the composers of the first half of the 20th century – such as Richard Strauss, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich and Sergei Prokofiev – Petar Bergamo simultaneously moves away from their aesthetic. This way he builds his own, somewhat contradictory aesthetic – at the same time it is intense, frugal, unique, systematic and unrestrained, while finding ingenious solutions during the creative process itself. With his impressive and knowledgeable compositional approach and distinctive unique expression, he created a dramatically powerful and striking work that reconciles tradition and innovation, placing them in a harmonious coexistence.