String Quartet in B-flat major (Sibelius)

The String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 4, is a four-movement chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello^[3] written from the summer of 1889 to September 1890 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is the third of Sibelius's four string quartets. Musicologists have speculated: first, that the Adagio in D minor (JS 12) may have been intended as a slow movement for the Op. 4 quartet; and second, that the Allegretto in B-flat major (without catalogue designation) may be an abandoned sketch.^[4]

String Quartet in B-flat major
by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1891)
Opus	4
Composed	1889 (1889)–1890
Publisher	Fazer [fi] (1991)[1]
Duration	31.5 mins.[2]
Movements	4
Premiere
Date	13 October 1890 (1890-10-13)[1]
Location	Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland
Performers	Johan Halvorsen (violin) Wilhelm Santé (violin) Josef Schwartz (viola) Otto Hutschenreuter [ru] (cello)

The B-flat major Quartet received its premiere in Helsinki on 13 October 1890 at the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy); the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen was the first violinist, joined by Wilhelm Santé (violin II), Josef Schwartz (viola), and Otto Hutschenreuter [ru] (cello).^[1]

In February 1894, Sibelius arranged Movement III for strings and titled it Presto (also known as Scherzo). This version received its premiere on 17 February 1894 in Turku, with Sibelius conducting the Orchestra of the Turku Musical Society.^[1]

Structure

The Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen played first violin at the premiere.

An 13 October 1890 ad promoting the premiere of Sibelius's B-flat major Quartet

The B-flat major Quartet is in four movements, as follows:

1. Allegro
2. Andante molto
3. Presto
4. Allegro

The piece was published posthumously in 1991 by Fazer Music [fi].^[1]

Movement I

The first movement, marked Allegro, is in ²
₂ time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.^[2]

Movement II

The second movement, marked Andante molto, is in ²
₄ time; it has a duration of about 7.5 minutes.^[2]

Movement III

The third movement, marked Presto, is in ³
₄ time; it has a duration of about six minutes.^[2]

Movement IV

The fourth movement, marked Allegro, is in ⁴
₄ time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.^[2]

Discography

The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the B-flat major Quartet for Finlandia in 1985.^[1] The 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	31:28	1984	Convent Church, Naantali	Finlandia	[c]
2	Tempera [fi]	Laura Vikman	Silva Koskela	Tiila Kangas	Ulla Lampela	29:42	2004	Länna Church, Uppland [sv]	BIS	[d]

The Finnish conductor Pekka Helasvuo [fi] and the Finlandia Sinfonietta [fi] made the world premiere studio recording of Presto in 1985 for Finlandia.^[e] The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:

No.	Conductor	Ensemble	Rec.[f]	Time	Recording venue	Label	Ref.
1	Pekka Helasvuo [fi]	Finlandia Sinfonietta [fi]	1985	6:41	Laurentius Hall [fi]	Finlandia	[g]
2	Neeme Järvi	Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra	1987	6:41	Gothenburg Concert Hall	BIS	[h]
3	Juha Kangas [fi] (1)	Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (1)	1994	6:00	Kaustinen Church [fi]	Finlandia	[i]
4	Osmo Vänskä	Lahti Symphony Orchestra	2004	6:45	Sibelius Hall	BIS	[j]
5	Juha Kangas [fi] (2)	Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (2)	2011	5:57	Snellman Hall, Kokkola	Alba [fi]	[k]