The String Quartet in B major, Op. 4, is a four-movement chamber piece for two violins, viola, and cello written from the summer of 1889 to September 1890 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is the third of Sibelius's four string quartets. Musicologists have speculated: first, that the Adagio in D minor (JS 12) may have been intended as a slow movement for the Op. 4 quartet; and second, that the Allegretto in B major (without catalogue designation) may be an abandoned sketch.
Sibelius began composing the piece before attending a course in Berlin with Albert Becker. The regime at the Berlin training institute was much stricter than that in Helsinki, to which he was accustomed. As a result, this composition was not completed until his return to Loviisa, Finland (September 1890) after the course. It seems the Berlin course had little influence on his composition. The work appears to be a continuation of his Adagio in D minor, which he composed shortly after his return from Berlin. The quartet includes a passage in which Sibelius specifies pizzicato, a technique he later used extensively in his Second Symphony.
The B major Quartet received its premiere in Helsinki on 13 October 1890 at the Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy); the Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen was the first violinist, joined by Wilhelm Santé (violin II), Josef Schwartz (viola), and Otto Hutschenreuter (cello).
In February 1894, Sibelius arranged Movement III for strings and titled it Presto (also known as Scherzo). This version received its premiere on 17 February 1894 in Turku, with Sibelius conducting the Orchestra of the Turku Musical Society.
The quartet is in four movements:
The piece was published posthumously in 1991 by .
The first movement, marked Allegro, is in time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.
The second movement, marked Andante molto, is in time; it has a duration of about 7.5 minutes.
The third movement, marked Presto, is in time; it has a duration of about six minutes.
The fourth movement, marked Allegro, is in time; it has a duration of about nine minutes.
The Sibelius Academy Quartet made the world premiere studio recording of the B major Quartet for Finlandia in 1985. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings:
The Finnish conductor and the made the world premiere studio recording of Presto in 1985 for Finlandia. The table below lists this and other commercially available recordings: