String Quartet in A minor (Sibelius)

The String Quartet in A minor, JS 183, is a four-movement chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello written in 1889 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is the second of Sibelius's four string quartets. The initial finale was the Fugue (JS 85) that Sibelius had written as an academic exercise at the Helsinki Music Institute under the direction of his teacher, Martin Wegelius.

The A minor Quartet received its premiere in Helsinki on 29 May 1889 at the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy); the performers were Herman Csillag (violin), Wilhelm Santé (violin), Karl Wasenius (viola), and Wilhelm Renck (cello).

Structure
The A minor Quartet is in four movements, as follows: 1. Andante – Allegro

2. Adagio ma non tanto

3. Vivace

4. Allegro

The piece was published posthumously in 1991 by Fazer Music.

Movement I
The first movement begins with an Andante in time before switching to  for the Allegro. It has a duration of about nine minutes.

Movement II
The second movement, marked Adagio ma non tanto, is in time; it has a duration of about seven minutes.

Movement III
The third movement, marked Vivace, is in time; it has a duration of about five minutes.

Movement IV
The fourth movement, marked Allegro, is in time; it has a duration of about seven minutes.

Discography
The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the A minor Quartet for Finlandia in 1985. The sortable table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

Notes, references, and sources

 * Notes


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 * Sources