String Quartet No. 3 (Britten)

String Quartet
No. 3
by Benjamin Britten
Britten in the mid-1960s
KeyG major
Opus94
Composed1975 (1975)
DedicationHans Keller
Premiere
Date19 December 1976 (1976-12-19)
LocationThe Maltings, Snape
PerformersAmadeus Quartet

String Quartet No. 3 in G major, Op. 94, by English composer Benjamin Britten was his last completed major work, and his last completed instrumental work. It was written in October – November 1975 during his final illness: the first four movements at his home, The Red House, Aldeburgh, and the fifth during his last visit to Venice, at Hotel Danieli. It was dedicated to the musicologist Hans Keller. In December 1975, brothers Colin and David Matthews performed it privately for the composer in a piano duet arrangement. During September 1976, Britten worked on it with the Amadeus Quartet; who premiered it on 19 December 1976 at The Maltings, Snape, two weeks after the composer's death.[1][2][3][4]

  1. ^ Evans, Peter (1979). The Music of Benjamin Britten. London, Melbourne and Toronto: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. pp. 339–348. ISBN 0-460-04350-1.
  2. ^ Carpenter, Humphrey (1992). Benjamin Britten: A Biography. Faber and Faber. pp. 574–575, 580–581, 590. ISBN 0-571-14324-5.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Parker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Hogwood, Brian (16 March 2014). "Listening to Britten – String Quartet no.3, Op.94". Retrieved 6 March 2016.