Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

finished the composition of his String Quartet No. 1 in

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

, Op. 2, ( B. 8), one of his earliest chamber works, in March 1862.

Background

Dvořák's fourteen

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s cover the bulk of his composing career, from 1862 (No. 1) to 1895 ( No. 14). The first string quartet was not his first chamber composition: he had written the String Quintet in A minor (Op. 1) in Summer 1861. In 1887 Dvořák decided to rework the long-forgotten quartet. He removed a good deal of what he by then considered to be unnecessary "filler" in the original version. The composition was dedicated to the director of

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

, , who was Dvořák's teacher of music theory at the Prague Organ School. No actual performance has been documented before 1888, when the revised version of the work was played at a concert of the (Arts Discussion Group) in the

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-Renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. C ...

in Prague. The players were members of the orchestra of the National Theatre: Karel Ondříček, Jan Pelikán, Petr Mareš and

Alois Neruda Alois Neruda (baptized Alois Jan; 20 June 1837 – 25 January 1899) was a Czech cellist. Life Neruda was born on 20 June 1837 in Kostelec nad Labem. His father was the composer and singing teacher Josef Neruda (1804–1876). He won a demanding ...

Structure

The work is composed in four

movements 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 c ...

: The approximate duration is 48 minutes. The strongest pointer to Dvořák's future mastership is in the three-part trio section of the third movement, which is the forerunner of the many future

furiant A furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian dance in alternating 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents; or, in "art music", in 3/4 time "with strong accents forming pairs of beats". The stylised form of the dance was often used by Czech ...

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

*
"String Quartet No. 1"
antonin-dvorak.cz *
"String Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 2"

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

Dvorak 01 1862 compositions Music dedicated to students or teachers Compositions in A major {{chamber-composition-stub