String Quartet No. 5 in F minor, Op. 9, B. 37 - Antonín Dvořák

String Quartet No. 5 in F minor, Op. 9, B. 37 by Antonín Dvořák

Dvorak completed this quartet for two violins, viola and cello in October of 1873. Dvorak had intended for the work to have a premiere performance by the Bennewitz Quartet, a string quartet originally founded by the German violinist Friedrich Wilhelm Pixis, but taken over by the Bohemian violinist Anton Bennewitz in 1876.

Despite Bennewitz accepting the quartet to be performed as part of their concert cycle, the Bennewitz quartet would refuse to perform the work, citing that it was due to a “lack of quartet style”. Dvorak would reportedly tear out the first page of the manuscript bearing a dedication to Bennewitz, and he would not pursue having the work performed at any later date.

The first public performance of the quartet would not occur until 1930 in Prague.

This quartet is comprised of four movements:
I. Moderato – Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto quasi allegretto
III. Tempo di valse
IV. Finale: Allegro molto