String Quartet No. 3 (Tchaikovsky)
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The String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 30, by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was composed in 1876, and is the last of his three String Quartets. It was written as a memorial for Ferdinand Laub. [1] (The date upon the manuscript is early February 1876. [2])
The quartet was performed for the first time at a party at Nikolai Rubinstein's apartment on March 2. The first public performance was at a concert on 30 March (new style/March 18 (old style), 1876, the performers being: Jan Hrimaly [1] and Adolph Brodsky, violins; Yuly Gerber, cello; and Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, cello.
Once, while Tchaikovsky was staying with some friends, they surprised him by bringing in a String Quartet who performed this quartet for him. When they finished playing, Tchaikovsky remarked, "At first I didn't much like the Finale, but now I see that it is quite good."
[edit] Structure
The work is in four movements and is approximately 37 minutes long.
- Andante Sostenuto - Allegro moderato
- Allegretto vivo e scherzando
- Andante funebre e doloroso, ma con moto
- Finale: Allegro non troppo e risoluto.
The Andante Funebre was originally intended to be the second movement, with the Allegretto vivo e scherzando as the third, but Tchaikovsky later decided to switch them.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Evans, Edwin (1906). Tchaikovsky. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company, 157-8. OCLC 408445.
- ^ Newmarch, Rosa Harriet (1899, revised 1908, republished 1969 by Greenwood Press, and 2006). Tchaikovsky; his life and works, with extracts from his writings, and the diary of his tour abroad in 1888. Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 54. ISBN 1-4254-9674-1.
