In the 21st century it remains an important and refined musical form. The standard structure for a string quartet is four movements, with the 1st movement in Sonata form, Allegro, in the tonic key; 2nd movement is a slow movement, in thesubdominant key; 3rd movement is a Minuet and Trio, in the tonic key; and the 4th movement is often in Rondo form or Sonata rondo form, in the tonic key.
Some quartets play together for many years in ensembles which may be named after the first violinist e. Well-known string quartets can be found in the list of string quartet ensembles.
Not that he composed the first quartet of all: before Haydn alighted on the genre there had been several spasmodic examples of divertimenti for two solo violins, viola and cello by Viennese composers such as Wagenseil and Holzbauer; and there had long been a tradition of performing orchestral works with one instrument to a part. Wyn Jones cites the widespread practice of playing works written for string orchestra, such as divertimenti and serenades, with just four players, one to a part, there being no separate fifth contabasso part in string scoring before the 19th century.
However, these composers showed no interest in exploring the development of the string quartet as a medium. The origins of the string quartet can be further traced back to the Baroque trio sonata, in which two solo instruments performed with acontinuo section consisting of a bass instrument such as the cello and keyboard. A very early example is a four-part sonata for string ensemble by Gregorio Allegri — that might be considered an important prototype string quartet.
By the early 18th century, composers were often adding a third soloist; and moreover it became common to omit the keyboard part, letting the cello support the bass line alone. Figure 2. The string quartet in its now accepted form came about with Haydn. The following purely chance circumstance had led him to try his luck at the composition of quartets.
Haydn, then eighteen years old, took up this proposal, and so originated his first quartet which, immediately it appeared, received such general approval that Haydn took courage to work further in this form. Haydn went on to write nine other quartets around this time. These works were published as his Op. They have five movements and take the form: fast movement, minuet and trio I, slow movement, minuet and trio II, and fast finale.
As Finscher notes, they draw stylistically on the Austrian divertimento tradition. The intervening years saw Haydn begin his lifelong employment as Kapellmeister to the Esterhazy princes, for who he was required to compose numerous symphonies and dozens of trios for violin, viola and the curious bass instrument called the baryton played by Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy himself.
The opportunities for experiment which both these genres offered Haydn perhaps helped him in the pursuit of the more advanced quartet style found in the eighteen worked published in the early s as Opp.
Written in his inimitable style, the book considers a "canon" of string quartets divided into historical chapters with titles cleverly named for musical forms and devices. Quite thought provoking. A list of "noteworthy" quartets highlighted in bold in his index can be found here. The 20th Century String Quartet Published in and edited by Evan Jones , this two-volume set features a diversity of essays on important 20th century string quartet composers by leading scholars from a variety of musicological angles.
While the contents might be a bit technical for many, the list of featured composers and quartets is valuable in itself. The book title Intimate Voices references this string quartet. The Four and the One David Rounds wrote a beautiful book "in praise of string quartets", as his subtitle proclaims.
For the layman, the book covers many wonderful apsects of the genre and features the Canadian Lafayette Quartet as a case study of string quartet performers in real life and behind the scenes.
Rounds has assembled his own compelling listener's guide which he has marvelously published on the web. Cambridge Companion Published in as part of a larger series of Cambridge Companions on music, this collection of essays by a number of scholars edited by Robin Stowell is a valuable book on the string quartet. It discusses a number of topics including a short but fascinating history of celebrated string quartet ensembles, the expansion of technical resources and a consideration at program and reception histories at different times and places.
Beethoven Quartet Companion Beethoven's string quartets are central to the genre particularly given Beethoven's dedication to the string quartet through out his life and his various creative periods yielding an epic "cycle" that revolutionized the genre. Robert Winter's book includes a variety of essays by different authors covering various aspects of Beethoven's achievement and legacy. Chamber Music Listener's Guide A wonderful book by James Keller on chamber music in general with "program notes" little essays covering a broad selection of the "canon.
Guide to Chamber Music Another, slightly older but warmly familiar general chamber music guide with program notes by Melvin Berger. The string quartets discussed in Bergers's book are listed here. Wikipedia The wikipedia string quartet page is a starting place. Often, it is not the inline content itself but the links, references and pointers to futher information that offer interesting depth.
For sound reinforcement, they doubled the string parts to make an octet. Still, the essential sound and muscle of the string quartet defines this tune. Elvis and the Juliet Letters Years ago, the Brodsky Quartet also partnered with singer songwriter Elvis Costello creating the rather compelling collection titled the Juliet Letters. If you know Mozart's string quartets well, you will be constantly delighted. Spanish Mozart There was an early 19th century Spanish composer named Arriaga whom his compatriots called the "Spanish Mozart".
Arriaga was clearly a supremely gifted composer and managed three really good string quartets before he died at the age of 20, forever young. Not Haydn For years a set of 6 string quartets were happily attributed to Haydn, the great founding father. Relatively recent scholarship determined that these were actually composed by an Austrian Monk named Hoffstetter. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hoffstetter's quartets even contain a "greatest hit" for string quartet: the serenade, once, famously ascribed to Haydn.
Listen to the entire quartet here. Be hear now. The Shortest String Quartet Webern's 6 Bagatelles are likely the shortest as well as famous, infamous and influential. The complete set of 6 micro-quartets lasts under 4 minutes. You do the math. The term "bagatelle" is commonly assigned to short, individual pieces with no thematic connection. The term means "a trifle.
The music itself is far more concise than any words so I won't say more. Before the Fall Before his rather fearsome modern masterpieces, Webern, began in a lush, late romantic style much like his mentor Arnold Schoenberg.
It is fascinating to here where these composers started, and where they ended up. Ruth Crawford Seeger, One of the first, really great early Modernist quartets by an American was written by a woman composer, Ruth Crawford Seeger. It is original, fierce, influential. It influenced Elliott Carter among others. There are numerous incredible women composers of string quartet music stretching back to the midth century to Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix's sister.
The 20th Century features some really substantial cycles from individual composers. Look it up! Darius Milhaud composed prodigiously for the string quartet including 2 individual quartets that can also be played together at the same time making an octet.
A performance of all three would make an interesting concert. Here is quartet one. Here is quartet two. Here they are combined as an octet. Beethoven's Great Fugue All of Beethoven, but especially his late string quartets, display his extreme dual nature, stretched along a bipolarity between brutal, violent force on the edge of chaos and serene, sublime, if not transcendent peace. This is Beethoven perhaps at his most challenging, a piece Stravinsky called "the first piece of modern music, forever modern.
Beethoven's Thanksgiving The sublime, spiritual and even sacred Beethoven burns brightly in the late quartets as well. This epic, otherwordly song is Beethoven's "song of thanksgiving to the diety from a convalescent upong recovering from an illness" his title. It is as "Great" as the fugue, but in an entirely different way.
Adagio for Strings The string quartet is often a vehicle for the extremely expressive, rarefied and sublime. There are so many examples that it is simply a defining trait of the genre, something to expect. American composer Samuel Barber composed an example while still a music student in His Adagio for Strings seems to have a universal affect on people as it has been frequently invoked for tragic state funerals and poignant film scores.
It started life as a string quartet. Fragments Some of the finest quartet music comes from miniatures, an orphan movement from an incomplete work or an unfinished fragment. Schubert's "Satz" is an example as well as a rondo by Mozart , forever incomplete. I love it still, especially just where it leaves off. Just Right, but Terribly Difficult American composer Ben Johnston has written 10 string quartets exploring different tuning systems, different scales and other experiments typical of the genre.
This may be partly because the palette of sound is more restricted than with orchestral music, forcing the music to stand more on its own rather than relying on tonal color; or from the inherently contrapuntaltendency in music written for four equal instruments.
However, from the s onwards, many composers have shown a renewed interest in the genre. A composition for four players of stringed instruments may be in any form. Quartets written in the classical period usually have four movements with a large-scale structure similar to that of a symphony:. Many other chamber groups can be seen as modifications of the string quartet: the string quintet is a string quartet with an extra viola, cello or double bass; the string triohas one violin, a viola, and a cello; the piano quintet is a string quartet with an added piano; the piano quartet is a string quartet with one of the violins replaced by a piano; and the clarinet quintet is a string quartet with an added clarinet.
It is also possible to find compositions for String sextet and String octet. Whereas individual string players often group together to make ad hoc string quartets, others continue to play together for many years in ensembles which may be named after the first violinist e. Established quartets may undergo changes in membership whilst retaining their original name. Well-known string quartets can be found on the list of string quartet ensembles.
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