Sergei Prokofiev wrote his String Quartet No. 1 in B minor (Op. 50) between 1930 and 1931 as a commission from the Library of Congress.[1]
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The work is distinctive in that its key, B minor, is just a semitone below the limits of the viola and cello range. Another distinctive feature is that the finale is the slow movement, which is highly intense in emotion and full of sweeping melodies.
The string quartet is in three movements, lasting around 20–25 minutes:
Prokofiev had liked the finale so much that he transcribed a version of it for string orchestra (as Op. 50a), and included a piano transcription in his pieces op. 52.
According to prokofiev.org, the American premiere was given on April 25, 1931 at the Library of Congress Washington DC by the Brosa Quartet. The work received its Russian premiere in Moscow on October 9, 1931 by the Roth Quartet, according to the composer (writing in his "short" autobiography of 1941).[1]