Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

composed his String Quartet No. 11 in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, Op. 61, B. 121, between late October and early November 1881 to fulfill a commission from the

Hellmesberger Quartet The Hellmesberger Quartet was a string quartet formed in Vienna in 1849. It was founded by Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. and was the first permanent named String Quartet. Composition Violinist Leopold Jansa had started a string quartet in 1845. Hellme ...

Background

In October 1881, Dvořák finished the sketches for his new opera '' Dimitrij'', when he learned in the Vienna newspapers, that the Hellmesberger Quartet is proposing the performance of his new string quartet in December 1881. He was thus forced to interrupt the work on the opera, and began to compose a quartet. Dvořák began to compose 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 F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

(on 7 October 1881), but he probably wasn't satisfied with that version, since later (on 25 October 1881) after completing the first movement, he decided to create an entirely new work, in C major. The composition was supposed to premiere on 15 December 1881 in the Vienna Ringtheater, but because of the catastrophic conflagration in that building, the performance was postponed. It is not known today when the first performance occurred. The Czech première took place on 5 January 1884; the quartet was played by , Julius Raušer, Josef Krehan and .

Structure

The composition consists of four movements, and lasts around 30 minutes in performance. Two themes based on a

polonaise The polonaise (, ; pl, polonez ) is a dance of Polish origin, one of the five Polish national dances in time. Its name is French for "Polish" adjective feminine/"Polish woman"/"girl". The original Polish name of the dance is Chodzony, meani ...

for

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, B. 94, written two years earlier, reappear in the spirited scherzo of the third movement.

References

External links

*
Info on a comprehensive Dvořák site
Dvorak 11 1881 compositions Compositions in C major Music commissioned by ensembles or performers {{chamber-composition-stub