String Quartet No. 3 in G Major

Britten’s final string quartet—by turns ethereal and sardonic, yet essentially lyrical—ends with haunting simplicity and warmth, as if the composer were saying farewell to life. In poor health following heart surgery in 1973, Britten had found it painful to reach across the large manuscript paper required for operatic or symphonic writing. The critic and broadcaster Hans Keller suggested he should turn instead to chamber music, and became the dedicatee of Britten’s Third Quartet, completed in 1975. The Amadeus Quartet, whom Britten had in mind as the performers, gave the composer a preview of the work at his Aldeburgh home in September 1976. They also gave the public premiere at Snape Maltings on 19 December, just over a fortnight after Britten’s death aged only 63. The opening movement, “Duets”, a series of swaying dialogues between pairs of instruments, is followed by a brief, impulsive “Ostinato”, an ethereal “Solo” inspired by the playing of Amadeus leader Norbert Brainin, and a sardonic “Burlesque”. All these movements pay tribute to composers Britten admired: especially Mahler (in the “Burlesque”) and his friend Shostakovich, who had died in August 1975. The final movement, though, reflects on Britten’s own music: subtitled “La Serenissima” (and composed in Venice), it quotes from his final opera, Death in Venice (1973), making specific, poignant reference to music associated with Gustav von Aschenbach—the character created onstage by his artistic and life partner, Peter Pears.