Smetana's first string quartet was written in 1876, towards the end of his life. It is a semi-autobiographical work in four movements, each describing an aspect of his life. The first movement represents the tumult of his entire life, the second, his rediscovery of his Czech identity, the third, familial tragedy, and the fourth, success, as well as his deafness, which had onset two years prior. The work ends with a recollection of the themes of the first movement.

This recording is by the Koeckert Quartet.

Both the score and recording are in the public domain in Canada, the EU, and many other regions. They can be found at the lovely Wikimedia-of-classical-music, IMSLP.org

Movements:
00:00 - I. Allegro vivo appassionato
07:05 - II. Allegro moderato à la Polka
12:46 - III. Largo sostenuto
21:29 - IV: Vivace

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