For several years following composition of his first piano quartet, Dvořák’s publisher Simrock pushed him to compose a follow-up piece in the genre. The work, written during a few short weeks in summer 1889, fulfilled Simrock’s wishes. With his op. 87, Dvořák delivered a challenging and mature work in which a mastery of form is combined with memorable themes and surprising harmonic turns, leading it quickly to conquer the hearts of both performers and audiences.
Apart from the first edition, the autograph and the engraver’s copy were at our disposal as sources for this critical edition with which Henle continues the series of Urtext editions of Dvořák’s works.
Content/Details
- Piano Quartet E flat major op. 87
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Preface
After his Piano Quartet in D major op. 23 of 1875, 14 years were to pass before Antonín Dvořák (1841 – 1904) again turned to this genre. Unlike the first work, which was composed of his own initiative, the second Piano Quartet in Eb major op. 87, which he wrote in the summer of 1889, traces back to a suggestion by his Berlin publisher Fritz Simrock. On 27 July 1888 Simrock … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer
Antonín Dvorák
With Smetana he is the most famous Czech composer of the nineteenth century, contributing to the dissemination and appreciation of Czech music throughout the world. Among his around 200 works, encompassing all standard genres, are nine symphonies, fourteen string quartets, and twelve operas.
| 1841 | Born in Nelahozeves (Mühlhausen) on the Vltava River on September 8, the son of a butcher and innkeeper. |
| 1853 | Attends the training school in Zlonice; there he receives a comprehensive musical education from Josef Toman and the cantor Antonín Liehmann; subsequent education in Česká Kamenice (1856–57). |
| 1857–59 | Studies at the organ school in Prague. Until 1871 he will earn his living as a music teacher, organist, and violist. |
| 1861 | String Quintet No. 1 in A minor, considered his first work. |
| 1862 | Position as solo violist in the orchestra of the Bohemian Provisional Theater (conducted by Smetana, among others) |
| 1873 | Breakthrough with the premiere in Prague of his patriotic hymn “The Heirs of the White Mountain,” Op. 30. Employment at the private Prague School of Music. Several state scholarships. |
| 1874–77 | Organist at St. Adalbert church. |
| from 1876 | “Moravian Duets,” Opp. 20, 29, 32, and 38 (1876–77), “Slavonic Rhapsodies,” Op. 45 and the first series of “Slavonic Dances,” Op. 46 (both from 1878) enjoy great success. His fame abroad grows. |
| 1882 | Premiere of the opera “Dimitrij”, in the tradition of grand opera. |
| 1884 | First invitation to England, after which eight more will follow. |
| 1886 | Premiere of his oratorio “Saint Ludmila,” Op. 71. |
| 1891 | Professor of composition at the Prague Conservatory. |
| 1891–95 | Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. |
| 1893 | Premiere in New York of Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” Op. 95 (American folkloric elements, cyclic techniques). |
| 1901 | Premiere in Prague of his most famous opera, “Rusalka.” |
| 1904 | Premiere in Prague of his last opera, “Armida.” Death in Prague on May 1. |
About the authors
Peter Jost (Editor)
Dr. Peter Jost, born in 1960 in Diefflen/Saar, read musicology, German and comparative studies at Saarland University in Saarbrücken. He did his PhD in 1988 with a thesis on Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen.
From November 1991 to April 2009 he was a research associate at the Richard Wagner Complete Edition in Munich, and since May 2009 has been an editor at G. Henle Publishers. His Urtext editions comprise predominantly French music of the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Lalo, Saint-Saëns and Ravel.