String Quartet in E-flat major (Sibelius)

The String Quartet in E-flat major, JS 184, is a four-movement chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello^[3] written in June 1885 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is the first of Sibelius's four string quartets. The quartet appears in the same sketchbook as two other brief pieces for string quartet: first, the Molto moderato – Scherzo (JS 134), which is Sibelius's earliest piece in the genre; and second, a fragmentary [Scherzo] in B minor (without catalogue marking; completed by Kalevi Aho).^[4]

String Quartet in E-flat major
by Jean Sibelius
The composer (c. 1885–1888)
Catalogue	JS 184
Composed	1885 (1885)
Publisher	Fazer [fi] (1991)[1]
Duration	19 mins.[2]
Movements	4

Structure

The E-flat major quartet is in four movements, as follows:

1. Allegro
2. Andante molto
3. Scherzo. Allegretto
4. Vivace

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

Discography

The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the E-flat major quartet for Finlandia in 1988.^[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	18:48	1988	Järvenpää Hall [fi]	Finlandia	[c]
2	Tempera [fi]	Laura Vikman	Silva Koskela	Tiila Kangas	Ulla Lampela	17:41	2004	Länna Church, Uppland [sv]	BIS	[d]