String Quartet No. 14 (Dvořák)

The String Quartet No. 14 in A-flat major, op. 105, B. 193, was the last string quartet completed by Antonín Dvořák, even though it was published before his Thirteenth Quartet (which appeared with the higher opus number 106). Dvořák finished his Fourteenth Quartet in 1895, when he had returned to Bohemia after his visit to America. The gestation of the Quartet had actually begun in America and lasted six months, which was rather protracted for the composer. This Quartet marked an important point in Dvořák's development because he would devote himself almost exclusively to writing explicit program music, namely symphonic poems and operas, afterwards.

The Quartet premiered on October 20, 1896.

Structure

Lasting just under 40 minutes, the four movements contain the following notable features:

Adagio ma non troppo—Allegro appassionato: opens with a cello solo, before the other instruments join in.
Molto vivace
Lento e molto cantabile: the principal theme comes from a choral song composed by Dvořák on Christmas Day, 1895.
Allegro non tanto: the main theme would be reprised in Dvořák's symphonic poem A Hero's Song, op. 111, B. 199, in 1897. The movement begins with some anguished phrases from the cello before evolving quickly into a joyful dance.

External links

Dvořák Quartet 14: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Performance of String Quartet No. 14 by the Borromeo String Quartet from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format

String quartets	String Quartet No. 1 in A major String Quartet No. 2 in B♭ major String Quartet No. 3 in D major String Quartet No. 4 in E minor String Quartet No. 5 in F minor No. 6 in A minor, Op. 12, B. 40 Andante appassionato in F major B.40a No. 7 in A minor, Op. 16, B. 45 String Quartet No. 8 in E major No. 9 in D minor, Op. 34, B. 75 String Quartet No. 10 in E♭ major (Slavonic) String Quartet movement in F major String Quartet No. 11 in C major String Quartet No. 12 in F major (American) String Quartet No. 13 in G major String Quartet No. 14 in A♭ major Cypresses quartet (Dvořák)

Other	Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor (Dumky) Romantic Pieces Serenade in D minor for Wind Instruments Silent Woods Sonatina in G major String Quintet No. 2 in G major String Quintet No. 3 in E♭ major (American) String Sextet in A major Terzetto in C

Piano music

Named for Dvořák

Portal:Classical music

String quartets by Antonín Dvořák

No. 1 in A major, Op. 2, B. 8 No. 2 in B flat major, B. 17 No. 3 in D major, B. 18 No. 4 in E minor, B. 19 No. 5 in F minor, Op. 9, B.37 No. 6 in A minor, Op. 12, B. 40 Andante appassionato in F major B.40a No. 7 in A minor, Op. 16, B. 45 No. 8 in E major, Op. 80, B. 57 No. 9 in D minor, Op. 34, B. 75 No. 10 in E flat major, Op. 51, B. 92 (Slavonic) Quartet movement in F major, B. 120 No. 11 in C major, Op. 61, B. 121 12 Cypresses, B. 152 No. 12 in F major, Op. 96, B. 179 (American) No. 13 in G major, Op. 106, B.192 No. 14 in A flat major, Op. 105, B. 193

List of compositions by Antonín Dvořák

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