String Quartet No. 2 in D

The quartet unfolds in four movements, each built on melody rather than argument.

I. Allegro moderato: The cello opens with a broad, rising tune that the other instruments pass around, giving the movement a warm, conversational feel from the start.

II. Scherzo, Allegro: A light, quick dance in triple time, with a delicate, waltz-like middle section that briefly slows the pace before the opening dance returns.

III. Notturno, Andante: The heart of the piece. The cello sings a long, arching melody over gently rocking accompaniment; the first violin later takes up the same tune an octave higher, and the two instruments trade it back and forth. This movement is often played on its own as "Borodin's Nocturne."

IV. Finale, Andante, Allegro risoluto: A brief, searching introduction leads into a vigorous, tightly argued finale that revisits earlier melodic ideas before driving to a decisive close.

Listen for how rarely the music raises its voice. Even the faster movements stay lyrical, and the quartet's four instruments are treated as equal singing voices rather than as accompaniment to a soloist.

Borodin wrote his Second String Quartet in 1881, reportedly as a tribute to his wife, Ekaterina, and to the early years of their relationship. He was primarily a chemist by profession, composing in whatever time his scientific career left him, which makes the quartet's polish and warmth notable. The work was completed and performed in Russia in the early 1880s among the circle of composers and friends around Borodin in St. Petersburg. It quickly became one of his most loved pieces, and the third movement, the Nocturne, took on a life of its own, arranged for various ensembles and orchestras and often performed as a standalone piece at concerts, far more often than the complete quartet.