The String Quartet in A minor, JS 183, is a four-movement string quartet 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 (violin), Wilhelm Santé (violin), (viola), and Wilhelm Renck (cello).
Structure The A minor Quartet is in four movements, as follows:
The piece was published posthumously in 1991 by .
The first movement begins with an Andante in time before switching to for the Allegro. It has a duration of about nine minutes.
The second movement, marked Adagio ma non tanto, is in time; it has a duration of about seven minutes.
The third movement, marked Vivace, is in time; it has a duration of about five minutes.
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:
QuartetViolin IViolin IIViolaCelloRuntimeRecording venueLabel1Sibelius Academy28:221984Convent Church, NaantaliFinlandia2Sophisticated Ladies35:101989BIS3Jean Sibelius31:121991Ondine 4 34:202005BIS5Flinders30:202015Wyselaskie AuditoriumABC Classics 6Leipzig33:392016MDG
Notes, references, and sources