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^[2] 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.^[3]

String Quartet in A minor
by Jean Sibelius
The composer in 1889
Catalogue	JS 183
Composed	1889 (1889)
Publisher	Fazer [fi] (1991)[1]
Duration	28 mins.[2]
Movements	4
Premiere
Date	29 May 1889 (1889-05-29)[1]
Location	Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland
Performers	Herman Csillag [de] (violin) Wilhelm Santé (violin) Karl Wasenius [fi] (viola) Wilhelm Renck (cello)

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 [de] (violin), Wilhelm Santé (violin), Karl Wasenius [fi] (viola), and Wilhelm Renck (cello).^[1]

Structure

A 29 May 1889 ad promoting the premiere of Sibelius's A minor Quartet

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 [fi].^[4]

Movement I

The first movement begins with an Andante in ⁶
₄ time before switching to ⁴
₄ for the Allegro. It has a duration of about nine minutes.^[5]

Movement II

The second movement, marked Adagio ma non tanto, is in ⁹
₈ time; it has a duration of about seven minutes.^[5]

Movement III

The third movement, marked Vivace, is in ³
₄ time; it has a duration of about five minutes.^[5]

Movement IV

The fourth movement, marked Allegro, is in ⁴
₄ time; it has a duration of about seven minutes.^[1]

Discography

The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the A minor Quartet for Finlandia in 1985.^[1] The sortable table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

No.	Quartet	Violin I	Violin II	Viola	Cello	Runtime[a]	Rec.[b]	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
1	Sibelius Academy	Seppo Tukiainen [fi]	Erkki Kantola [fi]	Veikko Kosonen	Arto Noras	28:22	1984	Convent Church, Naantali	Finlandia	[c]
2	Sophisticated Ladies	Ulrika Jansson	Annette Mannheimer	Mona Bengtsson	Åsa Forsberg	35:10	1989	Petrus Church, Stocksund [sv]	BIS	[d]
3	Jean Sibelius	Yoshiko Arai	Jukka Pohjola	Teemu Kupiainen	Seppo Kimanen	31:12	1991	Roihuvuoren kirkko [fi]	Ondine	[e]
4	Tempera [fi]	Laura Vikman	Silva Koskela	Tiila Kangas	Ulla Lampela	34:20	2005	Länna Church, Uppland [sv]	BIS	[f]
5	Flinders	Helen Ayres	Shane Chen	Helen Ireland	Zoe Knighton	30:20	2015	Wyselaskie Auditorium	ABC Classics	[g]
6	Leipzig	Conrad Munk	Tilman Büning	Ivo Bauer	Matthias Moosdorf	33:39	2016	Abtei Marienmünster [de]	MDG	[h]