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String Quartet No. 3 (Tchaikovsky)

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String Quartet
No. 3
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Tchaikovsky in 1874
KeyE-flat major
Opus30
Composed1876 (1876)
DedicationFerdinand Laub
Performed2 March 1876 (1876-03-02)
Duration37 minutes
Movements4

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

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

  1. Andante sostenuto (E minor, 6
    8
    ) – Allegro moderato (E minor, 3
    4
    )
  2. Allegretto vivo e scherzando (B major, 2
    4
    )
  3. Andante funebre e doloroso, ma con moto (E minor, 4
    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

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Edwin (1906). Tchaikovsky. New York: E. P. Dutton & Company. pp. 157–8. OCLC 408445. evans tchaikovsky quartet laub.
  2. ^ 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.
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