The String Quartet in
B-flat major
B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor.
The B-flat major scale is:
Changes needed for ...
,
Op. 4, is a four-
movement
Movement may refer to:
Generic uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
* Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...
chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello written from the summer of 1889 to September 1890 by the Finnish composer
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...
. It is the third of Sibelius's four string quartets. Musicologists have speculated: first, that the ''Adagio'' in
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B♭ (musical note), B, and C (musical note), C. Its key signature has one Fla ...
(
JS 12) may have been intended as a slow movement for the Op. 4 quartet; and second, that the ''Allegretto'' in B-flat major (without catalogue designation) may be an abandoned sketch.
The B-flat major Quartet received its premiere in Helsinki on 13 October 1890 at the
Helsinki Music Institute
The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjok ...
(now the Sibelius Academy); the Norwegian composer
Johan Halvorsen
Johan Halvorsen (15 March 1864 – 4 December 1935) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist.
Life
Born in Drammen, he was an accomplished violinist from a very early age and became a prominent figure in Norwegian musical life. He r ...
was the first violinist, joined by Wilhelm Santé (violin II), Josef Schwartz (viola), and (cello).
In February 1894, Sibelius arranged Movement III for strings and titled it ''Presto'' (also known as Scherzo). This version received its premiere on 17 February 1894 in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
, with Sibelius conducting the
Orchestra of the Turku Musical Society.
Structure
The B-flat major Quartet is in four movements, as follows:
The piece was
published posthumously in 1991 by .
Movement I
The first movement, marked ''Allegro'', is in
time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
; it has a duration of about nine minutes.
Movement II
The second movement, marked ''Andante molto'', is in time; it has a duration of about 7.5 minutes.
Movement III
The third movement, marked ''Presto'', is in time; it has a duration of about six minutes.
Movement IV
The fourth movement, marked ''Allegro'', is in time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.
Discography
The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the B-flat major Quartet for
Finlandia
''Finlandia'', Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the R ...
in 1985. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
The Finnish conductor and the made the world premiere studio recording of ''Presto'' in 1985 for
Finlandia
''Finlandia'', Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the R ...
. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
Notes, references, and sources
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{{Authority control
String quartets by Jean Sibelius
1890 compositions
Compositions in B-flat major