Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 in
F major
F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor.
The F major scale is:
:
F major is ...
,
Op. 73, was composed in 1946. It was premiered in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
by the
Beethoven Quartet
The Beethoven Quartet (russian: Струнный квартет имени Бетховена, ''Strunnyĭ kvartet imeni Betkhovena'') was a string quartet founded between 1922 and 1923 by graduates of the Moscow Conservatory: violinists Dmitri Ts ...
, to whom it is dedicated, in December 1946.
Structure
The quartet has five
movements
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
:
Playing time is approximately 33 minutes.
For the premiere, most likely so that he would not be accused of "
formalism
Formalism may refer to:
* Form (disambiguation)
* Formal (disambiguation)
* Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary
* Formalism (linguistics)
* Scien ...
" or "
elitism
Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who form an elite—a select group of people perceived as having an intrinsic quality, high intellect, wealth, power, notability, special skills, or experience—are more likely to be const ...
," Shostakovich renamed the movements in the manner of a war story:
A chamber symphony arrangement (Op. 73a) was made of this quartet by
Rudolph Barshai
Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (russian: Рудольф Борисович Баршай, link=no, September 28, 1924November 2, 2010) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and violist.
Life
Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Stanitsa Labinskaya ...
. It calls for flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, harp, and strings. It adds winds for tonal colour in the style of Shostakovich's symphonies.
The first movement is constructed using
sonata allegro form. The first theme appears in the first violin and is often heard interacting with the cello. The second theme is stated in the first violin and then imitated and transformed by the other three instruments. The development is rather long and pulls its material mainly from the first theme. Finally the ''
coda
Coda or CODA may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* Movie coda, a post-credits scene
* ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television
*''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
'' arrives with an acceleration and ''
crescendo
In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer depend ...
'', borrowing, once again, the main theme as its material.
External links
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{{Authority control
#03
1946 compositions
Compositions in F major