String Quartet in D major (Britten)

String Quartet in D major (with neither an official number nor an opus number) by English composer Benjamin Britten was written in 1931. He revised it during his final illness, and it was first published in 1974.

This article is about the unnumbered quartet of 1931. For the 1941 quartet in the same key, see String Quartet No. 1 (Britten).
String Quartet
by Benjamin Britten
KeyD major
Composed1931 (1931)
Published1974 (1974)

History

The quartet was completed during Britten's second year of study at the Royal College of Music. Britten showed the score to his mentor Frank Bridge, who called its counterpoint "too vocal". John Ireland, his official teacher, disagreed.[1]:22 It was played through privately by the Stratton Quartet in 1932. Britten was "v. pleased" with the result, "it sounds more or less as I intended it".[2]:46

In 1974, the composer revised it for publication, at the urging of Donald Mitchell.[2]:564 The revisions seem to have been fairly small.[1]:21

Structure and analysis

The quartet is in three movements:

  1. Allegro maestoso
  2. Lento ed espressivo
  3. Allegro giocoso

A complete performance takes about 19 minutes.[3][4]

Musicologist Peter Evans considered it an immediate background to, and to strongly foreshadow, Britten's Sinfonietta, which was published in 1932 as his Op. 1.[1]:21–23

Recordings
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References
  1. Evans, Peter (1979). The Music of Benjamin Britten. London, Melbourne and Toronto: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0-460-04350-1.
  2. Carpenter, Humphrey (1992). Benjamin Britten: A Biography. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-14324-5.
  3. Hogwood, Brian (25 May 2013). "Listening to Britten – String Quartet in D major". goodmorningbritten.wordpress.com. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  4. Stevenson, Joseph. Benjamin Britten – String Quartet in D major at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  5. Benjamin Britten – Endellion String Quartet – Complete Music For String Quartet (String Quartets Nos.1-3 · String Quartet In D · Rhapsody · Phantasy For String Quartet · Phantasy For Oboe And String Trio · Quartettino · Elegy For Solo Viola · Three Divertimenti · Alla Marcia) at Discogs (list of releases)
  6. Benjamin Britten/The Britten Quartet – String Quartet In D/Simple Symphony/String Quartet No. 1 at Discogs
  7. Britten String Quartet – Benjamin Britten: String Quartet In D; Simple Symphony; String Quartet No. 1 at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  8. Britten* - Sorrel Quartet – String Quartets - No 2 In C Major, In F Major (Premiere Recording), In D Major at Discogs
  9. Sorrel Quartet – Britten: String Quartets at AllMusic. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  10. Emperor Quartet – Britten: String Quartet No. 2; 3 Divertimenti; Miniature Suite; String Quartet in D at AllMusic
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