String Quartet No. 1 (Prokofiev)


's String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 50 was commissioned by the Library of Congress. The Quartet was first performed in Washington, D. C. on 25 April 1931 by the Brosa Quartet and in Moscow on 9 October 1931 by the Roth Quartet. The string quartet is in three movements, lasting around 20–25 minutes.

Movements

  1. Allegro
  2. Andante molto
  3. Andante

    Analysis

The work is distinctive in that its key, B minor, is just a semitone below the limits of the viola and cello range. Another distinctive feature is that the finale is the slow movement, which is highly intense in emotion and full of sweeping melodies.
Prokofiev had liked the finale so much that he transcribed a version of it for string orchestra, as Op. 50a, and included a piano transcription in his pieces as Op. 52.