Ernest Bloch (1880-1959)
Autograph music manuscript signed of the Second String Quartet, Agate Beach, Oregon, 28 October 1945
54 pages, 340 x 275mm, notated in black ink on three or four four-stave systems per page, with title page bearing a dedication ‘A mon cher Ami, Alexander Cohen’, the final page signed and inscribed: 'Achevé à Agate Beach, Oregon, Dimanche le 28 Octobre 1945, Ernest Bloch'. Provenance: Sotheby's, 26 & 27 November 1987, lot 243.

A fine manuscript containing the work frequently described as the composer's finest in the genre, with a presentation inscription to Alexander Cohen. Cohen had been a supporter of Bloch’s music since the 1930s and had helped rehearse the work with the Griller Quartet, which famously championed Bloch’s music. The work had been sketched in 1940, while Bloch had been teaching at Berkeley. Bloch returned to the composition towards the end of 1944, but its completion was delayed by illness until the following autumn.