String Quartet in C Major

Antun Sorkočević (1775 – 1841), Croatian composer, was a member of an old, distinguished aristocratic family. He studied music in Dubrovnik with his father Luka Sorkočević and then in Rome. In 1794 he became a member of the Great Council, the parliament of the Dubrovnik Republic, went to Paris as the last consul to be accredited there, and continued to live in Paris after the fall of the Dubrovnik Republic. His music often shows the limitations imposed by the provincial character of musical taste prevalent in Dubrovnik. Nevertheless, some of his works show considerable dramatic intensity. The String Quartet in C Major takes up a special place in the history of Croatian music. According to the present knowledge, it is the first work of its kind written by a Croatian composer (not including the Concertante Quartets by Ivan Mane Jarnović). Although the Qaurtet has not been dated, certain technical and stylistic traits suggest that it was composed at the beginning of the 19th century.