String Quartet No. 3 (Tchaikovsky)

The String Quartet No. 3 in E-Flat minor, Op. 30, by Pyotr 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, 1876. The first public performance was at a concert on 30 March (new style/March 18 (old style), the performers being: Jan Hřímalý[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."

Structure

The work is in four movements and is approximately 37 minutes long.

  1. Andante Sostenuto - Allegro moderato
  2. Allegretto vivo e scherzando
  3. Andante funebre e doloroso, ma con moto
  4. 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.

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Edwin (1906). Tchaikovsky. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company. pp. 157–8. OCLC 408445. http://books.google.com/books?id=rjU5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA157&dq=evans+tchaikovsky+quartet+laub&ei=ZHAlR8EPm4jsAp-e-O8H. 
  2. ^ 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. p. 54. ISBN 1-4254-9674-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=ae_-Ogu_fccC&pg=PA53&dq=tchaikovsky+quartet+1876&ei=qHElR_PLJIv07gLanu3qBw&sig=e1dlfUBXsJS4Bl3ydWMAeAoX90o#PPA53,M1.