String Sextet (Dvořák)

Antonín Dvořák´s String Sextet in A major, Op. 48, (B. 80) for two violins, two violas and two cellos was composed for the most part in May 1878. It was Dvořák's first work to be premiered outside Bohemia.^[1]

The period 1875-1879 was very important in Dvořák's life. The composer received government grants in that time, which enabled him to concentrate solely on composing. A sense of responsibility led him to hard and prolific work,^[2] and one of the results of his activity was the String Sextet.

Dvořák's German publisher Simrock offered the work to his friend and collaborator Joseph Joachim (famous violinist and leader of a string quartet), and he together with other artists performed the work privately on 19 July 1879. The composer was present and was enchanted by the performance. The next day he wrote to his friend Alois Göbl: "...Joachim waited with eagerness for my arrival and even organized a soirée for my sake. During the celebration they played my new quartet and sextet. They played with great understanding and enthusiasm..."^[3] Joachim and colleagues gave the public premiere of the work in Berlin on 9 November 1879.^[4] A few months later they also performed it in London.

The composition was published by Fritz Simrock in 1879; the critical edition of the work was printed in 1957.^[5]

Structure

The composition consists of four movements:

Allegro — Moderato
Dumka. Poco allegretto
Furiant. Presto
Finale. Tema con variazioni. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andantino

The work was composed at the same time as the Slavonic Rhapsodies (Op. 45) and Slavonic Dances (Op. 46). Written in similar style, it can also be called "Slavonic".^[6] Two inner movements are partly stylisations of the dumka and partly of the folk furiant. The first movement is written in the sonata form, and the last part is composed in the form of variations, in a soft, meditative mood.

Selected recordings

String Quintet No. 2, String Sextet. Supraphon 1992. (11 1461-2 131).[1] (Panocha Quartet)

Footnotes

^ sleeve note of the Supraphon recording (11 1461-2 131)
^ sleeve note of the Supraphon recording (11 1461-2 131)
^ sleeve note of the Supraphon recording (11 1461-2 131)
^ J. Clapham, Antonín Dvořák, Norton, 1979, p. 46
^ Burghauser, p. 112
^ sleeve note of the Supraphon recording (11 1461-2 131)

References

Jarmil Burghauser: Antonín Dvořák. Prague: Koniasch Latin Press, 2006. ISBN 80-86791-26-2

External links

Info on a comprehensive Dvorak site
Performance of String Sextet by the Musicians from Marlboro from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format
English info
String Sextet (Dvořák): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Antonín Dvořák

Operas

Alfred (1870)
King and Charcoal Burner (1874)
The Stubborn Lovers (1874)
Vanda (1875)
The Cunning Peasant (1877)
Dimitrij (1882)
The Jacobin (1887)
The Devil and Kate (1898)
Rusalka (1901)
Armida (1904)

Orchestral music

Symphonies	No. 1 in C minor (The Bells of Zlonice) No. 2 in B♭ major No. 3 in E♭ major No. 4 in D minor No. 5 in F major No. 6 in D major No. 7 in D minor No. 8 in G major No. 9 in E minor (From the New World)
Other	A Hero's Song Carnival Overture Czech Suite Scherzo capriccioso Hussite Overture In Nature's Realm Legends My Home Nocturne in B major Othello Overture Serenade for Strings in E major Slavonic Dances Suite in A major (American) Symphonic Variations The Golden Spinning Wheel The Noon Witch The Water Goblin The Wild Dove Tragic Overture

Concertos

Cello Concerto in B minor
Cello Concerto in A major
Piano Concerto in G minor
Violin Concerto in A minor
Romance in F minor for violin and orchestra

Vocal music

Moravian Duets
Psalm 149
Saint Ludmilla
Stabat Mater
Requiem
Mass in D major
The Spectre's Bride

Chamber music

String quartets	No. 1 in A major No. 2 in B♭ major No. 3 in D major No. 4 in E minor No. 5 in F minor No. 6 in A minor Andante appassionato in F major No. 7 in A minor No. 8 in E major No. 9 in D minor No. 10 in E♭ major (Slavonic) String Quartet movement in F major No. 11 in C major No. 12 in F major (American) No. 13 in G major No. 14 in A♭ major Cypresses
String quintets	No. 1 in A minor No. 2 in G major No. 3 in E♭ major (American)
Piano trios	No. 1 in B♭ major No. 2 in G minor No. 3 in F minor No. 4 in E minor (Dumky)
Piano quartets	No. 1 in D major No. 2 in E♭ major
Piano quintets	No. 1 in A major No. 2 in A major
Other	Romantic Pieces Serenade in D minor for Wind Instruments Bagatelles Silent Woods Violin Sonata in F major Sonatina in G major String Sextet in A major Terzetto in C major Ballade