String Quartet No. 10 (Dvořák)

Antonín Dvořák wrote his String Quartet No. 10 in E♭ major, Op. 51 (B. 92), in 1879 at the request of Jean Becker, the leader of the Florentine Quartet.^[1][2] It is sometimes nicknamed the Slavonic Quartet (Becker had asked specifically for a "Slavonic Quartet" in the wake of Dvořák's "Slavonic Dances" and "Slavonic Rhapsodies").^[3] The quartet was dedicated to Jean Becker; it was first performed by the Joachim Quartet at a private chamber music evening on July 29, 1879, in Berlin. It was published by Simrock, Berlin, in 1879.^[3]

Structure

It is composed of four movements:

1. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Dumka: Andante con moto — Vivace
3. Romanza: Andante con moto
4. Finale: Allegro assai

The Slavonic character of the Quartet derives from the scherzo movement which has the form of a Dumka, and from the last movement, which according to Šourek is 'an art stylization of the very characteristic Czech "skočna".'^[3]

A typical performance lasts about 32 minutes.

References

Notes

1. (Anderson 1997)
2. (Cargill 1990)
3. (Šourek)

Sources

• Anderson, Keith (1997). "Liner Notes – Dvorak: String Quartets, Vol. 4 (Vlach Quartet) – Nos. 10, 14, Naxos 8.553374". Naxos. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
• Cargill, Simon (1990). "Liner Notes – Dvorak String Quartets Nº.10 in E-flat major & Nº.11 in C major, Chandos 8837" (PDF). Chandos. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
• Šourek, Otakar. The Chamber Music of Antonín Dvořák. Translated by Samsour, Roberta Finlayson. Czechoslovakia: Artia. Retrieved 13 March 2018.

External links

• "Antonin Dvořák: String quartet no. 10 "Slavonic"". antonin-dvorak.cz. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
• Dvořák Quartet 10: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Performance of String Quartet no. 10 by the Borromeo String Quartet from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format