String quartet

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Image:Stringquartetjuilliard1963.jpg A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group.

Contents

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Background

Image:ViolinImageWithFocusOnBridge.jpg Although any combination of four string instruments can literally be called a "string quartet", in practice the term refers to a group consisting of two violins (the "first", which usually plays the melody line in the higher register of notes, and the "second" violin, which plays lower notes in harmony), one viola and one cello. Should a composer create music for four other string instruments — for instance, three violins and a bass, or violin, viola, cello and guitar — the instrumentation is indicated specifically. The standard string quartet is widely seen as one of the most important forms in chamber music, with most major composers, from the late 18th century onwards, writing string quartets.

A piece of music for four players of stringed instruments may be in any form, but if it is simply a String Quartet (with or without a subtitle) it is usually in four movements, with a large-scale structure similar to that of a symphony. The outer movements are typically fast, the inner movements in classical quartet form are a slow movement and a dance movement of some sort (e.g., minuet, scherzo, furiant), in either order.

Many other chamber groups can be seen as modifications of the string quartet, such as the piano quintet, which is a string quartet with an added piano; the string quintet, which is a string quartet with an extra viola, cello or double bass; the string trio, which contains one violin, a viola, and a cello; and the piano quartet, a string quartet with one of the violins replaced by a piano.

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History

Image:Viola.jpg The form first came to be used after the middle of the 18th century. Joseph Haydn's first works for string quartet have five movements and resemble the divertimento (a title which they carried in some editions) or serenade, but the opus 9 quartets of 1769–70 are in the form which was to become standard both for Haydn and for other composers: four movements, a fast movement, a slow movement, a minuet and trio and a fast finale. Because his example helped codify a form that originated in the Baroque suite, Haydn is often referred to as "the father of the string quartet." Haydn occasionally played his quartets on social occasions in an impromptu quartet ensemble of which Mozart was also a member.

Ever since Haydn's day, the string quartet has been prestigious, and considered a true test of the classical composer's art. This may be partly due to the fact that 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 contrapuntal tendency in music written for four equal instruments.

Quartet composition flourished in the Classical era, with both Mozart and Beethoven writing famous series of quartets to set alongside Haydn's. A - very slight - slackening in the pace of quartet composition occurred in the 19th century; here, a curious phenomenon was seen in composers who wrote only one quartet, perhaps to show that they could fully command this hallowed genre. With the onset of the Modern era of classical music, the quartet returned to full popularity among composers, as the extensive listings below document.

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Popular string quartets

Some of the most popular or widely acclaimed works for string quartet written between the 18th century and the 1980s, include:

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List of string quartet composers

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Born before 1800

  • Giovanni Battista Sammartini (ca. 1700–1775): wrote several quartets though as with many early works for the medium some of these could be played equally by a small string orchestra.
  • Christian Cannabich (1731–1798): six string quartets opus 5 (about 1780).
  • Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): wrote sixty-eight string quartets (some of which he called Divertimenti), the last incomplete, plus Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze (The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross), a sequence of eight slow movements plus a brief, rapid, finale (originally written for orchestra, but probably better known in its version for string quartet).
  • François Joseph Gossec (1734–1829): twelve string quartets: Op.14 (1770) and Op.15 (1772) [1]
  • Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739–1813): over seventy string quartets. ([2])
  • Vaclav Pichl (1741–1805): wrote over thirty quartets; he was one of the founders of the Vienna Violin School.
  • Roman Hofstetter (1742–1815): an Austrian monk and composer, now supposed to have composed the six string quartets known as Haydn's opus 3, including the well-known 'Serenade Quartet'.
  • Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805): A prolific composer in most chamber music genres, Boccherini wrote ninety-one string quartets — he also wrote many string quintets.
  • Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746–1825): wrote 149 string quartets and 30 quartets d'airs variés ([3]) (many of which exist also in versions with winds. Alfred Einstein suggests that Mozart's fourth flute quartet, in his opinion a parody work, may have been in part a comment on their popularity.)
  • Bartholomeo Campagnola (1751–1827): wrote six string quartets.
  • Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812): fifty string quartets (plus seven for vn, 2va, vc) (source: Grove online).
  • Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755–1824): seventeen string quartets.
  • Franz Grill (1756?–1792): nine string quartets.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): wrote twenty-three string quartets, including the six so-called Haydn Quartets (1782–85), generally reckoned to be his best.
  • Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–1792): wrote altogether 16 string quartets (6 Goetingen quartets are lost). See also his Flute quintet in D-major.
  • Pavel Vranický / Paul Wranitzky (1756–1808): wrote seventy-three string quartets which, at their best (the six quartets of Opus 16, the three of Opus 23), are second only to Haydn and the mature Mozart in quality.
  • Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841): ten string quartets: 3 as Op.2, 3 as Op.5 and four others (source: Grove).
  • Franz Krommer / Frantisek Kramar (1759–1831): wrote approximately 100 string quartets, many of which were very popular in early 19th century Vienna, and were compared positively to Beethoven's quartets.
  • Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842): wrote six string quartets (1814–1837).
  • Antonín Vranický / Anton Wranitzky (1761–1820): wrote 30 quartets. A founder of the Vienna "violin school" and major virtuoso, he was the teacher of Ignaz Schuppanzigh and leader of the Lobkowitz Orchestra.
  • Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763–1850): (aka Vojtěch Matyáš Jírovec) friend of Mozart, wrote at least forty-two string quartets (Grove), possibly more than fifty (Hyperion CD notes).
  • Samuel Wesley (1766–1837): at least one quartet (in E♭, written around 1810. [4])
  • Andreas Romberg (1767–1821): wrote six string quartets.
  • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827): wrote sixteen quartets widely regarded as among the finest quartets by any composer.
  • Johan Hoffmann (1770–1815): two quartets (in D major and F major). ([5], this link also for Hoffmann).
  • Peter Hänsel (1770–1831): wrote at least ten quartets.
  • Anton Reicha (1770–1836): wrote at least thirty-seven string quartets (14 of them newly-discovered), of which the ten Vienna quartets (1801-6) are the most important. Though largely ignored since Reicha's lifetime, they were highly influential works. Groups in Europe have begun programming Reicha's quartets, and first modern editions and first recordings are now in the works. 1
  • Antal György Csermák (c.1774–1822): wrote a quartet Die drohende Gefahr.
  • Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837): wrote three string quartets, Op.30, No 1 in C major; Op.30 No 2 in G major and Op.30 No 3 in E♭ major (all ca.1808).
  • Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840): three string quartets.
  • Georges Onslow (1784–1853): thirty-six quartets written between 1810 and 1845.
  • Louis Spohr (1784–1859): known as Ludwig in his native Germany, Spohr wrote thirty-six string quartets and four double quartets (for two string quartets).
  • Anselm Hüttenbrenner (1794–1868): wrote two string quartets (E major 1816, C minor 1847)
  • Franz Berwald (1796–1868): Swedish composer, wrote three string quartets, No 1 in G minor (1818), No 2 in A minor (1849), and No 3 in E♭ major (1849).
  • Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848): Much better known for his operas, Donizetti also wrote eighteen string quartets, the first sixteen between 1817 and 1821 (mostly 'scholastic works', though the fifth is his most performed), the seventeenth in 1825 and the last in 1836.
  • Franz Schubert (1797–1828): traditionally reckoned to have written fifteen string quartets. The Death and the Maiden and Rosamunde quartets are particularly well known.
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Born 1801–1850

  • Franz Lachner (1803–1890): at least six quartets (no. 1 op. 75 in B minor, no. 2 op. 76 in A major, no. 4 op. 120 in D minor, no. 5 op. 169 in G major, no. 6 op. 173 in E minor)
  • Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857): After attempting to compose a quartet in 1824 (a work that remained incomplete), Glinka wrote his only finished string quartet in 1830. While this piece is now seldom performed, it and its incomplete predecessor are notable as among the first attempts by a native Russian composer to work in this genre.
    • String Quartet in F major (1830)
  • Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann (1805–1890): three string quartets ([6])
  • Fanny Mendelssohn (1805–1847): A string quartet in E-flat (1834)
  • Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806–1826): Early 19th century Spanish composer, born on Mozart's 50th birthday. Wrote three brilliant quartets (ca.1824) before his abrupt death at age 19: No 1 in D minor; No 2 in A major; No 3 in E-flat major
  • Vaclav Veit (1806–1864): Early Romantic Czech composer, a major influence on Smetana, wrote four string quartets and five string quintets.
  • Ignaz Lachner (1807–1895): wrote eight quartets ([7]- op. 43 in F, op. 54 in C, op. 74 in A, op. 104 in G, op. 105 in A minor, op. 106 in C for 3 violins and viola, op. 107 in G for four violins, in B♭ op. posth. )
  • Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847): wrote six numbered string quartets: op. 12 (1829), op. 13 (1827), op. 44 (three quartets, 1838), and op. 80 (1847); an early unnumbered string quartet in E-flat major (1823); Four Pieces ("Andante", "Scherzo", "Capriccio", "Fugue") for string quartet, op. 81 (1847); a set of 15 fugues for string quartet, written when Mendelssohn was twelve (!); and another fugue (in E-flat major) for string quartet, written at age eighteen. Mendelssohn's early quartet music shows a remarkable mastery of (and dependence upon) the formal procedures of Beethoven's late quartets, but with a highly original transformation of their expressive significance.
  • Norbert Burgmüller (1810–1836): four elegant string quartets: op. 4 in D minor, op. 7 in D minor, op. 9 in A flat major, and op. 14 in A minor.
  • Robert Schumann (1810–1856): wrote three string quartets (opus number 41), not among his better known works
  • Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901): one string quartet, in E minor (1873)
  • Robert Volkmann (1815–1883): six string quartets
  • Niels Wilhelm Gade (1817–1890) : one published quartet (D major, opus 63) and suppressed quartets in F major, F minor and E minor
  • Stanisław Moniuszko (1819–1872) : two string quartets (D minor, F major)
  • Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881): three string quartets (in E minor opus 44, in C major opus 51, in B-flat opus 52 — the latter two published posthumously)
  • Friedrich Kiel (1821–1885): two string quartets (opus 53, in A minor and E-flat) and waltzes op. 78
  • Emilie Mayer (1821–1883): a string quartet opus 14 in G minor
  • César Franck (1822–1890): wrote one string quartet (1889)
  • Joachim Raff (1822–1882): wrote eight string quartets (1855 to 1876)
  • Anton Bruckner (1824–1896): wrote one string quartet (1862)
  • Carl Reinecke (1824–1910): wrote four string quartets (opus 16 in E-flat in 1842, opus 30 in F around 1851, opus 132 in C around 1874, opus 211 in D)
  • Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884): two string quartets, No 1 in E minor From my Life; and No 2 in D minor, with the first being the better known
  • Woldemar Bargiel (1828–1897): at least two quartets (Op. 15b in A, Op. 47 in D)
  • Anton Rubinstein (1829–1894): ten string quartets spread throughout his life
  • Karl Goldmark (1830–1915): Goldmark's only string quartet was his "breakthrough" work, his first composition to receive very positive reviews in contemporary Viennese musical journals. Long neglected, it was recorded several times in the 1990's as part of a general revival of interest in Goldmark's chamber music.
    • String Quartet in B-flat major, op. 8 (1860)
  • Alexander Borodin (1833–1887): two string quartets: No. 1 in A (1879) and No. 2 in D (1881), of which the second is the better known, and whose second Scherzo and Notturno third movement have been "borrowed" for musicals (Kismet)
  • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897): wrote three string quartets, the first two in 1879 and the final one in 1881
  • Felix Draeseke (1835–1913): wrote three string quartets between 1880 and 1895
  • Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921): two string quartets: op.112 (1889) and op.153 (1918)
  • Joseph Wieniawski (1837–1912): at least one quartet, in A minor opus 32
  • Max Bruch (1838–1920): two string quartets, from his student days or a little after, op.9 in C minor (1858/9) and op.10 in E major (1860)
  • Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916): five string quartets (#1 in C minor about 1872–#5 in A major about 1911)
  • Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901): two string quartets, in C minor op. 89 and F major op. 147
  • Hermann Goetz (1840–1876): one string quartet in B-flat (1865-66)
  • Johan Svendsen (1840–1911): one string quartet, his op. 1
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): three string quartets: No. 1 in D, op.11 (1871); No. 2 in F, op.22 (1873); and No. 3 in E-flat minor, op.30 (1876), of which the first is the best-known, especially the Andante cantabile second movemment which has been recorded many times with full orchestra
  • Elfrida Andrée (1841–1929): wrote one string quartet in D minor ([8]) and another in A major (published in 2000)
  • Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904): wrote fourteen string quartets, with number twelve, the American, the best known
  • Giovanni Sgambati (1841–1914): wrote a string quartet in D-flat major, his op. 17 (1882)
  • Ján Levoslav Bella (1843–1936): wrote three string quartets, in E minor (1871), C minor (1880) and B-flat minor (1887)
  • Edvard Grieg (1843–1907): wrote two string quartets, the second being unfinished
  • Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843–1900): wrote five string quartets (1876–1890)
  • Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) Better known for his orchestral suites, he also wrote three complete string quartets, two single movements and three other pieces for string quartet
  • Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924): one string quartet, in E minor, op.121 (1924)
  • Robert Fuchs (1847–1927): four string quartets: No 1 in E, op.58 (1895); No 2 in A minor, op.62 (1899); No 3 in C, op.71 (1903); No 4 in A, op.106 (1916)
  • August Friedrich Martin Klughardt (1847–1902): two string quartets (in F, opus 42 and in D, opus 61)
  • Alexander Campbell MacKenzie (1847–1935): one string quartet in G (1868)
  • Hubert Parry (1848–1918): three string quartets
  • Zdeněk Fibich (1850–1900): wrote two string quartets (A major, 1874, G major, 1878) and a set of variations for quartet (B-flat, 1883) according to Orfeo CD label
  • Antonio Scontrino (1850–1922): wrote four string quartets (A minor, G minor, F major, C major) and a movement for string quartet
  • Alexander Taneyev (1850–1918): three string quartets: No 1 in G major, op.25; No 2 in C major op.28; and No 3 in A major, op.30 (source: Olympia CD notes)
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Born 1851–1900

  • Vincent D'Indy (1851–1931): wrote three string quartets
  • Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924): wrote eight string quartets (1891–1919)
  • Leoš Janáček (1854–1928): wrote two string quartets, known as The Kreutzer Sonata and Intimate Letters
  • Ernest Chausson (1855–1899): wrote one string quartet in three movements; the third movement was completed by Vincent D'Indy after Chausson's death in 1899
  • Christian Sinding (1856–1915): wrote a string quartet, his opus 70
  • Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev (1856–1915): nine complete string quartets, two partial (source: Grove Music Online)
  • Edward Elgar (1857–1934): one string quartet in E minor, Op.83 (1918)
  • Ethel Smyth (1858–1944): one published string quartet, in E minor (1902-1912) and one unpublished, dating from her student days in Leipzig, in C minor
  • Emil von Rezniček (1860–1945): four string quartets, including No 1 in C-sharp minor (1921), also in D minor ([9]; pub. Bimbach, 1923, Berlin) and B-flat major (pub. Bimbach, 1932), quartet in C minor (published by E.W. Fritzsch, Leipzig, 1883).
  • Hugo Wolf (1860–1903): wrote one string quartet (1884) and a more famous Italian Serenade for string quartet (1892); also, an Intermezzo
  • Charles Martin Loeffler (1861–1935): two string quartets, in A minor (1889), and Music for Four Stringed Instruments (1917)
  • Claude Debussy (1862–1918): one string quartet, in G minor, Op.10 (1893)
  • Frederick Delius (1862–1934): wrote three string quartets (1888, 1893 and 1916)
  • Felix Weingartner (1863–1942): four string quartets (in D minor op. 24, F minor op. 26, F op. 34 and D op. 62, pub. 1899, 1900, 1903 and 1918)
  • Eugen d'Albert (1864–1932): two string quartets (in A minor op. 7 and E-flat; op. 11, 1887 and 1893)
  • Alexander Gretchaninoff (1864–1956): four string quartets: No 1 in G major, Op. 2 (1894); No 2 in D minor, Op.70 (1913); No 3 in C minor, Op.75 (1915); No 4 in F major, Op.124 (1929)
  • Alberto Nepomuceno (1864–1920): wrote three string quartets
  • Joseph Guy Ropartz (1864–1955): six quartets (1893–1951)
  • Richard Strauss (1864–1949): wrote one string quartet
  • Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936): wrote seven string quartets, and numerous other compositions for string quartet (the Five Pieces of 1879–1881, the Five Novelettes Op.15, the Finale of the B-la-F Quartet and the first movement "Carol-singers" of the Name-day Quartet, the Suite Op.35, the Two Pieces of 1902, and the "Elegy for Belayev" Op.105). The Third Quartet (1888) is often nicknamed the "Slav Quartet", while the Seventh Quartet (1930) is subtitled "Hommage to the Past".
  • Gustav Jenner (1865–1920): wrote three string quartets in F major, G major and F (1907, 1910 and 1911 — [10])
  • Albéric Magnard (1865–1914): wrote one string quartet (1903)
  • Carl Nielsen (1865–1931): wrote four published string quartets, also an early quartet and quartet movements
  • Jean Sibelius (1865–1957): wrote three youthful quartets (1885, 1889 and 1890) and his much better known quartet "Voces Intimae" (1909)
  • Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924): two string quartets, Op 19 in C minor (1884) and Op 26 in D minor (1887)
  • Amy Beach (1867–1944): wrote one quartet, String Quartet in One Movement, Op.89 (1921)
  • Charles Koechlin (1867–1950): three string quartets, in D op. 51 (1911-13), op. 57 (1911-16), op. 72 in D (1917-21)
  • John Blackwood McEwen (1868–1948): 17 string quartets written from 1898 to 1947.
  • Max von Schillings (1868–1933): string quartet in E minor (about 1887)
  • Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949): wrote four string quartets (in D minor without opus number- 1886, D major opus 13 1903, C-sharp minor opus 36 from 1925 - later arranged into a symphony, and C minor opus 50, 1942)
  • Alfred Hill (1870–1960): Australian composer, wrote seventeen string quartets.
  • Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949): three quartets (1899–1938)
  • Louis Vierne (1870–1937): One string quartet (1894)
  • Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871–1927): Swedish composer, wrote six string quartets
  • Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871–1942) four string quartets and two movements for string quartet: No.1 in A major, Op.4 (1896); No.2, Op.15 (1913-15); No.3, Op.19 (1924); No.4 (Suite), Op.25 (1936); and two movements for string quartet (1927)
  • Paul Juon (1872–1940): four string quartets (a youthful opus five and three acknowledged quartets op. 11 in B minor, op. 29 in A minor and op. 67 in C)
  • Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958): two string quartets: No 1 in G minor (1908, rev. 1921) and No 2 in A minor (1942/3)
  • Max Reger (1873–1916): wrote six string quartets (including an early posthumously-published work with an optional part for double bass)
  • Franz Schmidt (1874–1939): quartet 1 in A (1925), quartet 2 in G (1929)
  • Charles Ives (1874–1954): wrote two string quartets (1896 and 1913), the first entitled "From the Salvation Army"
  • Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951): wrote four numbered string quartets, the second of which includes a part for soprano. Also composed an early, unnumbered, string quartet
  • Josef Suk (1874–1935): two string quartets — in B-flat, op. 11 from 1896, and op. 31 in one movement from 1911, tonal but from G minor -> D-flat. Also the Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale "St. Wenceslas", op. 35a, 1914.
  • Franco Alfano (1875–1954): wrote three string quartets
  • Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962): wrote a string quartet in A minor (1919)
  • Erkki Melartin (1875–1937): wrote four quartets, in E minor (1896), G minor (1900), E-flat major (1902) and in F (1910) ([11])
  • Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): one string quartet, in F major (1903)
  • Erno Dohnányi (1877–1960): wrote three string quartets (1899, 1906, 1926)
  • Joseph Holbrooke (1878–1958): wrote two string quartets (1905, 1915)
  • Frank Bridge (1879–1941): five string quartets: B-flat (1901); No 1 in E minor ('Bologna') (1906); No 2 in G minor (1915); No 3 (1926); No 4 (1937), plus a host of other, shorter pieces
  • Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936): three string quartets: D major (1907), D minor (1909) and "Quartetto Dorico" (1924)
  • Ernest Bloch (1880–1959): wrote five string quartets
  • Ermend Bonnal (1880–1944): two string quartets (1927 and 1934) [12]
  • Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880–1968): two string quartets in A major (1906) and D major (1932-3)
  • Béla Bartók (1881–1945): wrote six string quartets widely regarded as being the finest quartets of the first half of the 20th century
  • George Enescu (1881–1955): wrote two string quartets (no. 1 in E-flat and no. 2 in G, op. 22 nos. 1 and 2, 1916–1920 and 1951)
  • Nikolai Myaskovsky (1881–1950): wrote thirteen (1907 – 1949)
  • Nikolai Andreyevich Roslavets (1881–1944): wrote five string quartets (1913, 1915, 1920, 1929-31, 1942. [13]).
  • Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967): wrote two string quartets (1908 and 1917)
  • Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882–1973): wrote eight string quartets (1920–1964)
  • Artur Schnabel (1882–1951): wrote five string quartets (1918–1940. [14])
  • Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971): Three Pieces for String Quartet (1914); Concertino (1920); Double Canon for String Quartet (1959)
  • Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937): two string quartets, No 1, Op.37 in C major (1917) and No 2, Op.56 (1927)
  • Joaquín Turina (1882–1949): early quartet op. 4 (1911) and a later work for string quartet, "La Oración del Torero" (1925)
  • Arnold Bax (1883–1953): three string quartets: No 1 in G major (1918), No 2 in E minor and No 3 in F major (1936)
  • Anton Webern (1883–1945): his String Quartet is composed using the twelve-tone technique. His Five Movements, Op.5 (1909) and Six Bagatelles, Op.9 (1911-13) are also significant in SQ literature. Plus, a string quartet, a slow movement and a rondo from 1905.
  • Alban Berg (1885–1935)
    • String Quartet, Op. 3 (1910)
    • Lyric Suite (serial,1926) for string quartet, a work which influenced Bartók and many others
  • Egon Wellesz (1885–1974): wrote nine string quartets, #1 'in five movements' op. 14 (1911–12) through #9 op. 97 (1966) and op. 103 Music for String Quartet
  • Othmar Schoeck (1886–1957): wrote two string quartets (opp. 23, 1913, and 37, 1923) and a movement for string quartet (1908).
  • Kurt Atterberg (1887–1974): three string quartets, only one, no. 2 in b minor, recorded
  • Ernst Toch (1887–1964): 13 string quartets, the first five now lost, and a brief Dedication for quartet.
  • Fartein Valen (1887–1952): wrote two string quartets
  • Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959): wrote seventeen string quartets between 1915 and 1957
  • Matthijs Vermeulen (1888–1967): wrote one string quartet (1960–61)
  • Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959): wrote seven string quartets
  • Arthur Bliss (1891–1975): four string quartets: No 1 in A major (1914); No 2 (1923); No 3 in B♭ (1941); No 4 (1950)
  • Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953): wrote two string quartets (1930 and 1941)
  • Arthur Honegger (1892–1955): wrote three string quartets, in C minor (1917), D major (1936), and E major (1937)
  • Darius Milhaud (1892–1974): wrote eighteen, the fourteenth and fifteenth of which may be played as an octet
  • Hilding Rosenberg (1892–1985): wrote twelve (#1, 1920 revised 1955 to #12, 1957)
  • Germaine Tailleferre (1892–1983): wrote one quartet (1917-19)
  • Alois Hába (1893–1973): wrote sixteen quartets, empolying various microtonal systems (e.g. No.11 uses a sixth-tone system; No.12, quarter-tone; No.16, fifth-tone)
  • Paul Dessau (1894–1979): seven string quartets (#1 before 1943 and published 1969?, #2 in 1942/43, #3 in 1943–46, #4 Barbaraquartett or "99 Bars for Barbara" ([15]), #5 Quartettino (Felsenstein-Quartett) in 1955, #6 Sieben Sätze für Streichquartett in 1974, #7 in 1975. Also a string quartet movement in 1957.)
  • Willem Pijper (1894–1947): five string quartets (1914, 1920, 1923, 1928, 1946)
  • Walter Piston (1894–1976): wrote five string quartets (from 1933 to 1962)
  • Paul Hindemith (1895–1963): a violist, wrote seven string quartets
  • Dane Rudhyar (1895–1985): Crisis and Overcoming (1978), Advent (1976)
  • Roberto Gerhard (1896–1970): two string quartets (1950–5, 1960–2 [16]. Three earlier quartets at least are lost.)
  • Howard Hanson (1896–1981): one string quartet in one movement, his opus 23 (1923)
  • Roger Sessions (1896–1985): two string quartets (1938, 1951,) Canons to the memory of Stravinsky (1971)
  • Virgil Thomson (1896–1989): wrote two string quartets (1931 and 1932)
  • Henry Cowell (1897–1965): wrote four
  • John Fernström (1897–1961): wrote eight
  • Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957): perhaps better known for his movie scores, his formal works include three string quartets, Op.16 in A (1923), Op.26 in E-flat (1933), Op.34 in D (1945)
  • Quincy Porter (1897–1966): wrote nine (#1, 1923–#9, 1953.)
  • Francisco Mignone (1897–1986): wrote two, both in 1957
  • Alexandre Tansman (1897–1986): wrote nine (one lost, replaced by Triptych) ([17] for most of that, Fanfare review of a recording for the rest)
  • Hanns Eisler (1898–1962): wrote one string quartet, 1937 ([18])
  • George Gershwin (1898–1937): wrote one piece for string quartet, a lullaby, 1919 or 1920
  • Viktor Ullmann (1898–1944): three string quartets of which two are lost.
  • Hans Krása (1899–1944): one quartet (1921)
  • Jón Leifs (1899–1968): Icelandic composer, 3 string quartets: No 1 'Mors et vita', op.21, (1939); No 2 'Vita et mors', op.36, (1948–51); No 3 'El Greco', op.64, (1965) (source: Grove)
  • Silvestre Revueltas (1899–1940): wrote four quartets
  • Randall Thompson (1899–1984): wrote two quartets, in D minor (about 1941- possibly earlier, see Library of Congress listing?) and G major (1967)
  • George Antheil (1900–1959): wrote three quartets (1925, 1927, 1948), plus two smaller collections
  • Aaron Copland (1900–1990): wrote four pieces for string quartet (1921, unpublished; 1923, 1923, 1928)
  • Ernst Krenek (1900–1991): wrote eight
  • Alexander Mosolov (1900–1973): probably two quartets (1926, 1943)
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Born 1901–1950

  • Hans Erich Apostel (1901–1972): wrote two quartets (1935, 1956)
  • Ruth Crawford-Seeger (1901–1953): String Quartet (1931)
  • Edmund Rubbra (1901–1986): wrote four string quartets (no. 1 in F minor op. 35, 1933 revised 1946; no. 2 in E♭ op. 73, 1951; no. 3 op. 112, 1963; no. 4 op. 150, 1977; dates from the notes to the Sterling Quartet cycle on Conifer)
  • Vissarion Shebalin (1902–1963): wrote nine quartets (1923–1963) [19]
  • William Walton (1902–1983): wrote two string quartets (1922 and 1947)
  • Stefan Wolpe (1902–1972): String Quartet (1968–1969)
  • Günter Raphael(1903–1960): wrote six quartets (1924–1954)
  • Dmitri Borisovich Kabalevsky (1904–1987): wrote two string quartets (1928 and 1945)
  • Alan Rawsthorne (1905–1971): four quartets (1935–1965)
  • Giacinto Scelsi (1905–1988): wrote five (1944, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1984)
  • Michael Tippett (1905–1998): wrote five numbered string quartets plus two unnumbered youthful works
  • Eduard Tubin (1905–1982): wrote one string quartet
  • Klaus Egge (1906–1979): wrote several
  • Ross Lee Finney (1906–1997): wrote eight (no. 1 in F minor (1935) to no. 8 (1960))
  • Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973): wrote five (1944–1965)
  • Elisabeth Lutyens (1906–1984): wrote 13
  • Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975): wrote fifteen string quartets, often seen as being as significant works as his fifteen symphonies, but more "private"
  • Camargo Guarnieri (1907–1993): two string quartets (1932, 1944)
  • Elizabeth Maconchy (1907–1994): thirteen quartets
  • Miklós Rózsa (1907–1995): best known for his film scores, Rózsa also composed more formal music including two string quartets, No 1, Op.22 (1950) and No 2, Op.38 (1981)
  • Elliott Carter (born 1908): wrote five string quartets in the second half of the 20th century; also, Elegy (1948) and Fragments 1 & 2 (1994; 1999); the second quartet won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1960; the third, in 1973
  • Kurt Hessenberg (1908–1994): eight string quartets (1934–1987) ([20])
  • Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969): seven string quartets, the first two only recently published and recorded (the others from 1947 to 1965)
  • Vagn Holmboe (1909–1996): twenty mature string quartets from 1949 to 1985 (several discarded early works, one last Quartetto sereno completed by Per Nørgård)
  • Samuel Barber (1910–1981): wrote the String Quartet No. 1 in B minor, Op. 11 (1936), from which the Adagio for Strings was reorchestrated; the String Quartet No.2, Op. 27 (1948); Serenade for string quartet, Op.1 (1929), arranged for string orchestra in 1944; Dover Beach, for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) & string quartet, Op. 3; and a single quartet movement (1949) for a quartet whose other movements were never written
  • Evgeny Golubev (1910–1988): wrote 24 string quartets (1931 – 1986)
  • William Schuman (1910–1992): wrote five string quartets (1936–1950)
  • Bernard Herrmann (1911–1975): best known as a film composer (Citizen Kane, Psycho, Taxi Driver, etc.), Echoes was his only string quartet (1966)
  • John Cage (1912–1992): String Quartet in Four Parts (1950), Thirty Pieces for String Quartet (1983), Music for Four for String Quartet (1987–1988), Four (1989)
  • Conlon Nancarrow (1912–1997): wrote three string quartets (1945, ca. 1948, 1987), second incomplete
  • Benjamin Britten (1913–1976): wrote three numbered string quartets (1941, 1945 and 1975) plus two early unnumbered ones (1928 and 1931) and a number of other works for string quartet (such as the three Divertimenti, 1933)
  • Tikhon Khrennikov (born 1913): one quartet, his opus 33 (1988)
  • Witold Lutosławski (1913–1994): wrote one string quartet (1964)
  • David Diamond (1915–2005): wrote ten string quartets, from 1940 to 1974
  • George Perle (born 1915): wrote seven, of which five withdrawn
  • Vincent Persichetti (1915–1987): wrote four string quartets (1939, 1944, 1959, 1972)
  • Milton Babbitt (born 1916) wrote five abstract, densely serialistic quartets in the mid-20th century, and a sixth premiered in 2002
  • Henri Dutilleux (born 1916): wrote one quartet, Ainsi la nuit (1976)
  • Sven Einar Englund (1916–1999): wrote a quartet in 1985
  • Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983): four string quartets, 1948 to 1974, the last with baritone to a text from Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament
  • Lou Harrison (1917–2003): String Quartet Set (1979)
  • Yun I-sang (1917–1995): wrote six string quartets (#1 before 1956, #2 withdrawn, #3 in 1959, revised in 1961, #4 in 1988, #5 in 1990 and #6 in 1992- information from notes to recording of quartets 3 and 4, and from [21])
  • George Rochberg (1918–2005) wrote seven; the sixth quartet includes a set of variations on Pachelbel's Canon; the second includes a soprano part with texts by Rilke; the seventh includes a baritone part to texts by his late son
  • Leon Kirchner (born 1919): wrote three (1949, 1958, 1967); the third includes a tape part; the third quartet won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1967
  • Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919–1996): wrote seventeen, from his op. 2 (1937 rev. 1986) to op. 146 (1987) [22]
  • Peter Racine Fricker (1920–1990): wrote three string quartets (1947 to 1975)
  • William Bergsma (1921–1994): wrote five string quartets (1942, 1944, 1953, 1970, 1982)
  • Karel Husa (born 1921): wrote four; the third quartet won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, 1969
  • Joonas Kokkonen (1921–1996): wrote three string quartets (1959, 1966, 1976)
  • Robert Simpson (1921–1997): wrote 15 string quartets between 1952 and 1991
  • Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001): wrote four works for string quartet: "st/4 — 1,080262" (1955–1962) which was written with the help of an IBM 7090 computer using stochastic algorithms, Tetras (1983), a work in nine sections, Tetora (1990), which means "four" in Dorian, Ergma (1994).
  • György Ligeti (born 1923): String Quartet No. 1 ("Métamorphoses nocturnes") (1953–1954) and String Quartet No. 2 (1968)
  • Peter Mennin (1923–1983): wrote two string quartets (1941 and 1951)
  • Mel Powell (1923–1998): Filigree Setting (1959), String Quartet (1982)
  • Lejaren Hiller (1924–1994): wrote seven
  • Luciano Berio (1925–2003): Quatuor No. 1 (1956), dedicated to Bruno Maderna; Sincronie (1963-64); Notturno (1993); Glosse (1997)
  • Pierre Boulez (born 1925): wrote Livre pour quatuor (1949), then withdrew it, recasting some parts later as Livre pour cordes
  • Gunther Schuller (born 1925): wrote three
  • Boris Tchaikovsky (1925–1996): wrote six (1954–1976)
  • Earle Brown (1926–2002): wrote one quartet (1965)
  • Morton Feldman (1926–1987): Structures (1951); Three Pieces (1954–1956); String Quartet No.1 (1979), lasts about 100 minutes; String Quartet No.2 (1983) lasts over six hours
  • Hans Werner Henze (born 1926): wrote five
  • György Kurtág (born 1926): three works: String Quartet, Op.1, Hommage à Mihály András (12 Microludes), Op.13, Officium breve in memorium Andreae Szervánszky, Op.28
  • Thea Musgrave (born 1928): wrote one string quartet (1958)
  • Einojuhani Rautavaara (born 1928) wrote four string quartets
  • Ezra Sims (born 1928): String Quartet No. 2 (1962) (really a quintet), Third Quartet (1962)
  • Karlheinz Stockhausen (born 1928): Helikopter String Quartet (from "Mittwoch" from "LICHT"), for 4 helicopters & string quartet
  • George Crumb (born 1929): String Quartet, and Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet
  • Peter Sculthorpe (born 1929): sixteen string quartets (up to 2005)
  • Sofia Gubaidulina (born 1931): wrote four string quartets (1971, 1987, 1987, 1994), the last with tape
  • Mauricio Kagel (born 1931): wrote four
  • Ib Nørholm (born 1931): has written at least nine, number 1 from 1954 to number 9 his opus 137 in 1994 ([23], Library of Congress listing of publication has opus #)
  • Per Nørgård (born 1932): wrote nine
  • Henryk Górecki (born 1933): String Quartet No. 1 ("Already It Is Dusk"), Op. 62, String Quartet No. 2 ("Quasi una Fantasia"), Op. 64; the Kronos Quartet premiered Piesni Spiewaja ("...songs are sung"), String Quartet No. 3, Op. 67 in October 2005
  • Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933): wrote two string quartets (1960, 1968); Die Unterbrochene Gedanke (1984)
  • R. Murray Schafer (born 1933): ten string quartets, as of 2005; the seventh quartet includes a soprano part
  • Peter Maxwell Davies (born 1934): String Quartet in One Movement (1961); a few other shorter works; Maxwell Davies has been commissioned by the record company, Naxos to compose ten string quartets; eight have been completed (2002-2005). The recordings are performed by the Maggini Quartet.
  • Roger Reynolds (born 1934): Tetra, Coconino . . . A Shattered Landscape
  • Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998): wrote four string quartets and a Canon in Memoriam Igor Stravinsky and Variations for string quartet
  • Christian Wolff (born 1934): Summer (1960); Lines (1972)
  • François-Bernard Mâche (1935): Eridan, String Quartet op. 57 (1986), written for the Arditti Quartet; Moires for string quartet and tape, Op. 73 (1994)
  • Arvo Pärt (born 1935): Psalom, Summa, and arranged Fratres for string quartet
  • Terry Riley (born 1935): String Quartet (1960); returned to pre-composed notated music at the request of the Kronos Quartet in the 1970's: G Song; Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector; Cadenza on the Night Plain; Mythic Birds Waltz; Salome Dances for Peace; Requiem for Adam; The Sands for string quartet and orchestra; The Cusp of Magic for string quartet, pipa and assorted toys; Sun Rings for string quartet, choir and backing track of sounds recorded by NASA in space, to name but a few
  • Aulis Sallinen (born 1935): five string quartets
  • Peter Schickele (born 1935): five string quartets, two quintets with piano
  • La Monte Young (born 1935): On Remembering a Naiad (Five small pieces)(1956); Chronos Kristalla (Time Crystals) (1990), where the quartet's strings are tuned to Just intonation, play natural harmonics throughout, and lasts about ninety minutes
  • Steve Reich (born 1936): Different Trains, for string quartet & tape; and one Triple Quartet (1999), which may be performed by one quartet (with tape), three, or a 36 piece orchestra
  • Erich Urbanner (born 1936): wrote three quartets
  • Philip Glass (born 1937): wrote three string quartets as a student, five mature string quartets (1966, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1991) and music for string quartet for the 1931 film Dracula (1998)
  • Valentin Silvestrov (born 1937): wrote two quartets (1974, 1988), plus Quartetto Piccolo (1961)
  • Gloria Coates (born 1938): had written eight string quartets up to 2002
  • John Corigliano (born 1938): String Quartet (1995), revised for string orchestra as Symphony No. 2 (2000)
  • Alvin Curran (born 1938): VSTO (1993)
  • John Harbison (born 1938): wrote three
  • Charles Wuorinen (born 1938): wrote four
  • Louis Andriessen (born 1939): wrote two
  • Jonathan Harvey (born 1939): wrote two
  • Heinz Holliger (born 1939): wrote one (1973)
  • Tom Johnson (born 1939): Formulas for String Quartet (1994) (eight short movements, each following a mathematical formula)
  • John McCabe (born 1939): wrote five (1960, 1972, 1979, 1982, 1989)
  • Ingram Marshall (born 1942): Entrada (At the River) for string quartet amplified with processing, Evensongs, Voces Resonae (1984), and Fog Tropes II
  • Meredith Monk (born 1942): Stringsongs for string quartet (2004)
  • Gavin Bryars (born 1942): wrote three (1986 (Between the National and the Bristol), 1990, 1998)
  • Johanna Bruzdowicz (born 1943): wrote two (1983, 1988)
  • Brian Ferneyhough (born 1943): String Quartets Nos. 1–4; the fourth includes a part for a soprano
  • Paul Lansky (born 1944): String Quartet No. 1 (1967), String Quartet No. 2 (1971–1978), Ricercare (2000)
  • Michael Nyman (born 1944): four string quartets, plus a few smaller pieces, as of 2005
  • John Tavener (born 1944): four string quartets: The Hidden Treasure - String Quartet No. 1; The Last Sleep of the Virgin – String Quartet No.2, for string quartet and handbells; Diódia - String Quartet No. 3; The Bridegroom – String Quartet No. 4; plus other works including parts for string quartet
  • Peteris Vasks (born 1946): wrote four string quartets; The Kronos Quartet will premiere Vasks' fifth quartet in 2006.
  • Peter Ruzicka (born 1948): wrote four quartets; the fourth includes a part for a speaker
  • Jean-Thierry Boisseau (born 1949): Five Episodes for String Quartet (2005)
  • Kevin Volans (born 1949): nine string quartets, plus a short quartet movement; the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet premiered String Quartet No.10 in February 2006
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Born 1951 and later

  • Lois V Vierk (born 1951): Into the brightening air (1994/1999), dedicated to Mel Powell and River Beneath the River (1993)
  • Bunita Marcus (born 1952) The Rugmaker (1986)
  • Wolfgang Rihm (born 1952): wrote twelve quartets, as of 2005
  • John Zorn (born 1953): Forbidden Fruit for voice, string quartet & turntables (1987), Cat o' Nine Tails (or, Tex Avery Directs the Marquis de Sade) (1988), The Dead Man (1990), Memento Mori (1992), Kol Nidre (1996), Necronomicon (2003)
  • Carl Vine (born 1954) Australian composer, four string quartets to date, of which 3 and 4 have been recorded: Knips Suite (String Quartet No. 1) (1979); String Quartet No. 2 (1984); String Quartet No. 3 (1994); String Quartet No. 4 (2004)
  • Pascal Dusapin (born 1955): five quartets (1982, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2005)
  • Bob Ostertag (born 1957): All the Rage (1992)
  • Julia Wolfe (born 1958): released an album of string quartets, The String Quartets: Dig Deep, Four Marys, and Early that summer (1991)
  • Ezequiel Viñao (born 1960): wrote two quartets, as of 2005: La Noche de las Noches (1989) and The Loss and the Silence (2004)
  • Nigel Keay (born 1955) two quartets (1983, 1995)
  • Aaron Jay Kernis (born 1960): 2 string quartets, No. 1 Musica celestis (1990), No. 2 Musica instrumentalis (1998). He received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Quartet No. 2.
  • Edgar Meyer (born 1961): released an album mostly of string quartets, Short Trip Home (1999)
  • Jennifer Higdon (born 1962): Seven works for string quartet: Autumn's Cricket (1987), Voices (1993), Sky Quartet (1997 revised 2001), Amazing Grace (2003), Impressions (2003), Southern Harmony (2003), and An Exultation of Larks (2005).
  • Graham Fitkin (born 1963): Servant (1992); Pawn (2005)
  • Jean-Yves Malmasson (born 1963): wrote one string quartet
  • Carson P. Cooman (born 1980?): wrote four string quartets, plus a number of shorter works for String Quartet
[edit]

String quartets (ensembles)

For the purposes of performance, groups of string players sometimes group together to make ad hoc string quartets. Other groups continue playing together for many years, sometimes changing their members but retaining their name. Well known string quartets include:

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Further reading

  • David Blum (1986). The Art of Quartet Playing: The Guarneri Quartet in Conversation with David Blum, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc. ISBN 0394539850,
  • Arnold Steinhardt (1998).Indivisible by four, Farrar, Straus Giroux. ISBN 0374527008
  • Edith Eisler (2000). 21st-Century String Quartets, String Letter Publishing. ISBN 1890490156
  • Paul Griffiths (1983). The String Quartet: A History, New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 050001311X
  • David Rounds (1999), The Four & the One: In Praise of String Quartets, Fort Bragg, CA: Lost Coast Press. ISBN 1882897269.
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External links

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