The Stuyvesant String Quartet: In Concert at the Library of Congress

Featuring

Sylvan Shulman
Bernard Robbins
Ralph Hersh
Alan Shulman
Stuyvesant String Quartet
Ernö Dohnányi

Sergei Prokofiev
Antonín Dvořák

Did you know?

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Historical Context

Johannes Brahms proofread the musical galleys for Dvořák's 'American' Quartet and other works sent to his German publisher, a testament to their deep friendship and Brahms's high regard for Dvořák.

Recording & Production

The Stuyvesant Quartet, along with recording engineer Norman Pickering, formed their own label, Philharmonia Records, in 1950 to self-finance and self-promote their recordings.

Performer Biography

The Stuyvesant Quartet was among the first all-American string quartets of its period, paving the way for groups like the Juilliard and Hollywood Quartets.

Compositional Technique

Prokofiev's First String Quartet features an unusual structure where the finale is the slow movement, and it is written in the rarely chosen key of B minor for a quartet.

Composition History

Sergei Prokofiev's First String Quartet was commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge for $1,000 in 1930, and it was his first work in this genre.

Composer Biography

Ernő Dohnányi, a Hungarian composer and pianist, was famously successful in his time, ranking only behind Liszt among Hungarian musicians, and had composed 72 works by age 18.

Composition History

Antonín Dvořák composed his 'American' Quartet during a summer holiday in Spillville, Iowa, in 1893, where he was surrounded by Moravian immigrants and could speak his native Czech.