by Ben Hogwood Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1876, 150 years ago, the premiere took place of Dvořák’s String Quartet in G major.

As with many of the Czech composer’s works, it has a complicated history. Dvořák marked it as Op.18, but when it was revised in 1888 his publisher Simrock decided to label it as Op.77. Although the original work was scored in five movements, Dvořák later withdrew the Intermezzo second movement, which was reworked and became the Nocturne for strings in B major, a popular work published as Op.40

This enormously likeable work was made more unique by the scoring, with Dvořák writing for a conventional string quartet bolstered by a double bass. This gives a wonderful depth to the sound, and the ample bass writing supports a plethora of typically wonderful melodic material. You can watch the four-movement revised version below, with a starry ensemble of Baiba Skride and Andrés Gabetta (violins), Veronika Hagen (viola), Sol Gabetta (cello) and double bassist Roberto Di Ronza:

Meanwhile here too is the Intermezzo included from an early recording made by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players:

Published post no.2,830 – Wednesday 18 March 2026