String Quartet No. 3 (Tchaikovsky)
String Quartet | |
---|---|
No. 3 | |
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | |
Key | E-flat major |
Opus | 30 |
Composed | 1876 |
Dedication | Ferdinand Laub |
Performed | 2 March 1876 |
Duration | 37 minutes |
Movements | 4 |
The String Quartet No. 3 in E♭ 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, viola; 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."[citation needed]
Recently, it was featured in the downloadable content Left Behind for the 2013 video game The Last of Us.
Structure
[edit]The work is in four movements and is approximately 37 minutes long.
- Andante sostenuto (E♭ minor, 6
8) – Allegro moderato (E♭ minor, 3
4) - Allegretto vivo e scherzando (B♭ major, 2
4) - Andante funebre e doloroso, ma con moto (E♭ minor, 4
4) - Finale: Allegro non troppo e risoluto (E♭ major, 2
4)
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
[edit]- ^ a b Evans, Edwin (1906). Tchaikovsky. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company. pp. 157–8. OCLC 408445.
evans tchaikovsky quartet laub.
- ^ Newmarch, Rosa Harriet (1899). 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.