String Quartet

#REDIRECT String quartet

String Quartet

By the way, were Elisabeth Lutyens' last seven quartets published? I've looked a few places online (some library catalogs e.g., including the British Library) and find only up to her sixth. User:Schissel 01:21, 11 Nov 2004 (UTC)

String quartet

[[Image:Stringquartetjuilliard1963.jpg|thumb|300px|The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963]] 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. ==Background== 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" and "second" violin), one viola and one cello. Should a composer create music for four other string instruments — for instance, three violins and 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 or cello; the string trio, which is a string quartet with only one violin; and the piano quartet, a string quartet with one of the violins replaced by a piano. ==History== 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 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was also a member. Ever since Haydn's day, the string quartet has been prestigious, considered a true test of the classical composer's art. This may result from the fact that the palette of sound is more restricted than with orchestra music, forcing the music to stand more on its own rather than relying on tonal color; or from the inherently counterpoint tendency in music written for four equal instruments. Quartet composition flourished in the Classical music era era, with both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven writing famous series of quartets to set alongside Haydn's. A slackening (but only slight) in the pace of quartet composition occurred in the 19th century; here, a curious phenomenon was seen in the 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. ==List of string quartet composers== ===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. *Joseph Haydn (1732–1809): wrote List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn string quartets (some of which he called ''Divertimenti''), the last incomplete, plus ''Die Sieben letzten Worte unseres Erl�sers 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) **List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn *Fran�ois Joseph Gossec (1734–1829): twelve string quartets: Op.14 (1770) and Op.15 (1772) [http://www.mdt.co.uk/MDTSite/product//ALPHA025.htm] *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 — but see his string quintets! **List of string quartets by Luigi Boccherini *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 (Mozart) (1782–85), generally reckoned to be his best *Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841): ten string quartets: 3 as Op.2, 3 as Op.5 and four others (source: Grove) *Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842): wrote six string quartets (1814–1837) *Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763–1850): (aka Vojtěch Maty� J�rovec) friend of Mozart, wrote at least forty-two string quartets (Grove) possibly more than fifty (Hyperion CD notes) *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 *Anton Reicha (1770–1836): twenty-three string quartets, largely unknown, unperformed and unrecorded in the past century but important to the history of the string quartet [http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/articles/reicha/quartets/index.html 1] *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 flat major (all ca.1808) *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) *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 flat 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 ===Born 1801–1850=== *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) *Juan Cris�stomo Arriaga (1806–1826): Early 19th century Spain composer. 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 *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. *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 *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) *Bedrich 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) *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-Sa�ns (1835–1921): two string quartets: Op.112 (1889) and Op.153 (1918) *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) *Pyotr 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 catabile'' second movemment which has been recorded many times with full orchestra *Antonin Dvorak (1841–1904): wrote fourteen string quartets, with number twelve, the ''American'', the best known *Edvard Grieg (1843–1907): wrote two string quartets, the second being unfinished *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 Faur� (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) *Zdenek 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 *Aleksandr 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) ===Born 1851–1900=== *Vincent D'Indy (1851–1931): wrote three string quartets *Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924): wrote eight string quartets (1891–1919) *Leos Janacek (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 Taneyev (1856–1915): nine complete string quartets, two partial (source: Grove Music Online'') **List of string quartets by Sergei Taneyev *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 *Hugo Wolf (1860–1903): wrote one string quartet (1884) and a more famous ''Italian Serenade'' for string quartet (1892) *Emil von Reznicek (1860–1945): four string quartets, including No 1 in C sharp minor (1921), also in D minor ([http://www.hmt-leipzig.de/website/deu/aktuell/veranstaltungen/2002/okt.htm]; pub. Bimbach, 1923, Berlin) and B-flat major (pub. Bimbach, 1932), quartet in C minor (published by E.W. Fritzsch, Leipzig, 1883). *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) *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". *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) *Charles Koechlin (1867–1950): three string quartets, in D op. 51 (1911-13), op. 57 (1911-16), op. 72 in D (1917-21) *Hans Pfitzner (1869–1949): wrote four string quartets (in D minor without opus number- 1876?, 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. *Vitezslav Nov�k (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) *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 *Franz Schmidt (1874–1939): quartet 1 in A, quartet 2 in G *Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935): two string quartets — in B-flat, op. 11 from 1896, and op. 31 in one movement from 1911, tonal but from g -> D-flat. Also the Meditation on the Old Czech Chorale "St. Wenceslas", op. 35a, 1914. *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 *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) ([http://www.fimic.fi/fimic/fimic.nsf/0/6974ee061c4ad603c2256e6700454bcf?OpenDocument]) *Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): one string quartet, in F major (1903) *Erno Dohn�nyi (1877–1960): wrote three string quartets (1899, 1906, 1926) *Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936): two string quartets: No 1 in D major (1907) and "Quartetto Dorico" (1924) *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) *Ernest Bloch (1880–1959): wrote five string quartets *Ermend Bonnal (1880–1944): two string quartets (1927 and 1934) [http://www.bonnal.org/html/musique_chambre.html] *B�la Bart�k (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) *Zolt�n Kod�ly (1882–1967): wrote two string quartets (1908 and 1917) *Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882–1973): wrote eight string quartets (1920–1964) *Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971): ''Three Pieces for String Quartet'' (1914); ''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) *Joaqu�n Turina (1882–1949): early quartet op. 4 (1911) and a later work for string quartet, "La Oraci�n 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 (Webern)'' is composed using the twelve tone technique. Also a string quartet, slow movement and rondo from 1905. *Alban Berg (1885–1935) **''String Quartet'', Op. 3 (1910) **''Lyric Suite'' (''serial'',1926) for string quartet, a work which influenced Bart�k and many others *Egon Joseph 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'' *Kurt Atterberg (1887–1974): three string quartets, only one, no. 2 in b minor, recorded *Ernst Toch (1887–1964): 14 string quartets, the first five now lost *Fartein Valen (1887–1952): wrote two string quartets *Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959): wrote seventeen string quartets between 1915 and 1957 *Bohuslav Martinu (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 flat (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) *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 [http://www.metierrecords.co.uk/text/32.htm]. Three earlier quartets at least are lost.) *Howard Hanson (1896–1981): one string quartet in one movement (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 *Erich 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) *Francisco Mignone (1897–1986): wrote two, both in 1957 *Quincy Porter (1897–1966): wrote nine (#1, 1923–#9, 1953.) *Alexandre Tansman (1897–1986): wrote nine (one lost, replaced by ''Triptych'') ([http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish_music/composer/tansman.html] for most of that, Fanfare review of a recording for the rest) *George Gershwin (1898–1937): wrote one piece for string quartet, a lullaby, 1919 or 1920 *J�n 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) *Aaron Copland (1900–1990): wrote four pieces for string quartet (1921, unpublished; 1923, 1923, 1928) *Ernst Krenek (1900–1991): wrote eight ===Born 1901–1950=== *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-flat 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) [http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/shebalin.htm] *William Walton (1902–1983): wrote two string quartets (1922 and 1947) *Stefan Wolpe (1902–1972): ''String Quartet (Wolpe)'' (1968–1969) *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 *Klaus Egge (1906–1979): wrote several *Ross Lee Finney (composer) (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, but more "private", works than his fifteen symphonies *Camargo Guarnieri (1907–1993): two string quartets (1932, 1944) *Elizabeth Maconchy (1907–1994): thirteen quartets *Mikl�s R�zsa (1907–1995): best known for his film scores, R�zsa 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 *Grazyna 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 N�rg�rd) *Samuel Barber (1910–1981): wrote the String Quartet (Barber) No. 1 in B minor, Op. 11 (1936), from which the Adagio for Strings was orchestration; 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 at least 24 string quartets (1931 – 1986?) *William Schuman (1910–1992): wrote five string quartets (1936–1950) *John Cage (1912–1992): wrote one string quartet (1950), ''Thirty Pieces for String Quartet'' (1983), ''Music for Four for String Quartet'' (1987–1988), ''Four for String Quartet'' (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 *Witold Lutoslawski (1913–1994): wrote one string quartet (1964) *David Diamond (composer) (born 1915): 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 serialism quartets in the mid-20th century, and a sixth premiered in 2002. *Alberto Ginastera (1916–1983): four string quartets, 1948 to 1974, the last with baritone to a text from Beethoven's ''Heiligenstadt Testament'' *George Rochberg (born 1918) wrote seven, one of which includes variations on Pachelbel's Canon *Moisei Vainberg (1919–1996): wrote seventeen, from his op. 2 (1937 rev. 1986) to op. 141 (1987) [http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/vainberg.htm] *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) *Joonas Kokkonen (1921–1996): wrote three string quartets (1959, 1966, 1976) *Robert Simpson (composer) (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 Algorithmic music, ''Tetras'' (1983), a work in nine sections, ''Tetora'' (1990), which means "four" in Dorian, ''Ergma'' (1994). *Gy�rgy Ligeti (born 1923): ''String Quartet No. 1'' ("M�tamorphoses nocturnes") (1953–1954) and ''String Quartet No. 2'' (1968) *Peter Mennin (1923–1983): wrote two string quartets (1941 and 1951) *Mel Powell (1923–1998): ''String Quartet'' (1982) *Lejaren Hiller (1924–1994): wrote seven *Luciano Berio (1925–2003): wrote three, plus other pieces for string quartet *Morton Feldman (1926–1987): wrote two string quartets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the second being over six hours long *Hans Werner Henze (born 1926): wrote five *Thea Musgrave (born 1928): wrote one string quartet (1958) *Ezra Sims (born 1928): ''String Quartet No. 2'' (1962) (really a quintet), ''Third Quartet'' (1962) *Einojuhani Rautavaara (born 1928) wrote four string quartets *Karlheinz Stockhausen (born 1928): ''Helikopter String Quartet'' (from "Mittwoch" from "LICHT"), for 4 helicopters & string quartet *George Crumb (born 1929): ''String Quartet (Crumb)'', 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 *Henryk G�recki (born 1933): ''String Quartet No. 1'' ("Already It Is Dusk"), Op. 62, ''String Quartet No. 2'' ("Quasi una Fantasia"), Op. 64 *Krzysztof Penderecki (born 1933): wrote two string quartets (1960, 1968) *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 *Fran�ois-Bernard M�che (1935): ''Eridan'', String Quartet op. 57 (1986), written for the Arditti Quartet; ''Moires'' for string quartet and tape, Op. 73 (1994) *Arvo Part (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, ''Cadenza on the Night Plain'', ''Mythic Birds Waltz'', ''Salome Dances for Peace'' *Peter Schickele (born 1935): five string quartets, two quintets with piano *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 34 piece orchestra *Philip Glass (born 1937): wrote five string quartets *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 three *Louis Andriessen (born 1939): wrote two *Jonathan Harvey (born 1939): wrote two *Ingram Marshall (born 1942): ''Entrada (At the River)'' for string quartet amplified with processing, ''Evensongs'', ''Voces Resonae'' (1984), and ''Fog Tropes II'' *Brian Ferneyhough (born 1943): String Quartets Nos. 1–4. *Paul Lansky (born 1944): ''String Quartet No. 1'' (1967), ''String Quartet No. 2'' (1971–1978), ''Ricercare'' (2000) *Peteris Vasks (born 1946): wrote four string quartets *Kevin Volans (born 1949): wrote six string quartets ===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) *John Zorn (born 1953): ''The Dead Man'' (1990), '' Cat o' Nine Tails (Tex Avery Directs the Marquis de Sade)'' (1988), ''Forbidden Fruit'' for voice, string quartet & turntables (1987) *Bob Ostertag (born 1957): ''All the Rage'' (1992) *Ezequiel Vi�ao (born 1960): ''La Noche de las Noches'' (1989) *Julia Wolfe (born 1958): released an album of string quartets, ''The String Quartets'': ''Dip Deep'', ''Four Marys'', and ''Early that summer'' (1991) *Edgar Meyer (born 1961): released an album mostly of string quartets, ''Short Trip Home'' (1999) ==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: *Aeolian Quartet *Alban Berg Quartet *Alberni Quartet *Allegri Quartet *Amadeus Quartet *Amati Quartet *Arditti Quartet *Australian String Quartet *Belcea Quartet *Bond Pop Quartet *Borodin Quartet *Brandis Quartet *Brentano Quartet *Brodsky Quartet *Budapest Quartet *Busch Quartet *Claring Chamber Players *Cleveland Quartet *Chilingirian Quartet *Colorado Quartet *Corvinus Quartet *Covington Quartet *Coull Quartet *Delme Quartet *Duke Quartet *Endellion Quartet *Emerson String Quartet *Festetics String Quartet *Fitzwilliam Quartet *Gabrieli Quartet *Griller Quartet *Guarneri Quartet *Hagen Quartet *Hollywood Quartet *Hungarian Quartet *Italian Quartet *Kod�ly Quartet *Kopelman Quartet *Kronos Quartet *Lindsay Quartet *Melos Quartet *Orford Quartet *Orlando Quartet *Peterson Quartet *Prague Quartet *Quartet-X *Quatuor Mosa�ques *Rosamunde Quartett *Salomon Quartet *Sinfonia Quartet *Smetana Quartet *Skampa Quartet *Tak�cs Quartet *Talich Quartet *Tchaikovski Quartet *Tokyo String Quartet *Vegh Quartet *Vermeer Quartet *Vertavo String Quartet *Ysa�e Quartet *Zagreb Quartet *Zorian Quartet == External links == *[http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/1790/q_gi.htm String Quartet Performer Index] *[http://www.lmconsult.com/q_head.htm A Big List of Quartets] *[http://www.gregsandow.com/quartint.htm GregSandow.com An Introduction to String Quartets] *[http://www.raptusassociation.org/stringprehist_e.html A brief history of the development of the String Quartet up to Beethoven] *[http://www.all-about-beethoven.com/stringquartet.html Beethoven's string quartets], considered to be some of the best quartets ever written String quartets Compositions for string quartet Classical music Musical groups

String quartet

==Congrats== David Martland and Camembert need to be congratulated on this entry. This is Wikipedia at work! User:Wetman 01:36, 25 Jan 2004 (UTC) ==Repertory list== Now I've added a start towards a list of the heart of the repertory. When a highly selective list is hammered out by people like you, it's useful for people like me. A dozen quartets is impossibly arbitrary: fifty would be too many to be selective. The second list however should be as extensive as Wikipedians can make it. User:Wetman 20:05, 2 May 2004 (UTC) Is the "heart of the repertory" list intended to be descriptive or prescriptive? That is, is it a list of the thirty works most frequently heard at recitals, or is it a list of thirty works that provide a good overview of the quartet literature for a novice quartet listener? Or is it something else? User:Physicist 14:34, 3 May 2004 (UTC) :Those are overlapping aspects of the idea of a canon you're mentioning, Physicist. Both are good. In general, two kinds of lists are useful: selective ones and complete ones. I don't want to complain about the growing current Quartet list, but it is neither complete nor selective. It's on its way to be very fully representative of a "complete" list. A "list of string quartets that a moderately literate listener knows pretty well" was my general idea. Such a list ought to reflect the pretty-well-agreed-upon standards. Repertory is the concept. User:Wetman 16:16, 3 May 2004 (UTC) In that case, let me suggest that Schubert's Fourteenth Quartet (''Der Tod und das Mädchen'') and Brahms's Third Quartet be added to the list, as perhaps the best-known works of these composers in this genre. Probably one of the Mendelssohn quartets should appear also, but I'm not sure which. If we wish to keep the total at thirty, then including all of Beethoven's Op.18 may be excessive. Does anyone else have any thoughts on what should be added and what subtracted? User:Physicist 15:28, 4 May 2004 (UTC) I added George Crumb's ''Black Angels'' as the token modern quartet. User:Hyacinth 20:35, 4 May 2004 (UTC) :I added Physicist's Brahms and Schubert. And I ''didn't'' remove George Crumb, but that's not often played here in New York. I suppose in more urbane circles it's part of the agreed-upon repertory... Would Elliott Carter make a token modern? But, if there isn't even a token modern in the repertory, isn't that saying something that is actually quite true, and might be mentioned in the entry? User:Wetman 21:25, 4 May 2004 (UTC) I'm sorry, but I don't think it is possible to make such a list and be objective about it. People can probably agree that the quartets of, say Haydn and Beethoven are central to the repertoire, but as for a list of 30 pieces... I can't see how it can be done. Is Beethoven's opus 127 more important than opus 131? Is Bartok's fourth quartet more central to the repertoire than the terse third or the relatively "easier" fifth? As I see it, any such list is bound to be somewhat arbitrary and therefore of limited usefulness. I agree that it is useful to give some indication of what the most important works are as well as a more exhaustive list, but I don't think this is the way of doing it. I think the best way is to have a chunk of prose exploring the development of the genre - the most important composers can be pointed out as part of that. A bare list such as the one in the article now might be useful as a stopgap, but I wouldn't want people to get too bothered about its exact contents, because in time, I think it ought to be replaced by something a bit more substantial (I may have a go at doing this myself over the next week or two). --User:Camembert :What are "''the'' pretty-well-agreed-upon standards" (emphasis mine) that you speak of? Why are my additions to the list "suggested" while your original additions are not? Repertory doesn't describe musical repertory (hint, hint), but this list should consider availability of recordings, not just of live performances, which will definitely add more contemporary quartets. User:Hyacinth 21:49, 4 May 2004 (UTC) Also, adding Brahms and Schubert makes the total 31, 32 if you count the Crumb. User:Hyacinth 21:50, 4 May 2004 (UTC) I agree completely with Camembert and Hyacinth, the "general consensus" claimed in the article doesn't exist. This music is often felt by its listeners in a very personal way, and it's just not an area where you can get people into lockstep. Cheers, User:Opus33 23:54, 6 May 2004 (UTC) Perhaps the very idea that there might be a canon is oppressive. A look into ''Schwann'' could decide borderline cases: schwann expresses a canon, doesn't it? Thirty may be an unworkable number, ignorant me. But fifty string quartets is self-defeating. If no one wants to see such an inherently wicked list, let's scrub it.User:Wetman 01:31, 7 May 2004 (UTC)~ Thanks for your gracious act of pacifism, Wetman. So, what do we do now? To tell the truth, I rather ''like'' the list, so long as it's open to additions. We have the advantage that we are a ''group'' author, so any list of favorites that we produce is less likely to be regarded as just personal preference (so long as enough participate). We're rather more like an opinion poll, which is fairer. So I revised the prose part along these lines. However, if people would prefer just not to have a "favorites" section at all, I'm quite all right with that, too. Regards to all, User:Opus33 03:20, 7 May 2004 (UTC) I think you are right that there is a "canonic" core to the quartet literature, and it is good to call attention to it in some way. The list is a good start. Personally I have trouble leaving any of the Beethovens out--especially op. 130 and 132, but also op. 95 and 74 and 127 and 135 and the Grosse Fuge--there I listed them all, LOL. Anyone else think one of the Shostakovich quartets is sufficiently central to the repertory to be listed--say no. 8 or no. 10 (the one with the big passacaglia?) How about Berg's Lyric Suite? By the way I like having the Crumb on the list--that piece was a very big deal when I was in school, and it certainly spawned flocks of imitators. Best regards to all! Great page so far. User:Antandrus 04:38, 8 May 2004 (UTC) I have my personal favorites, the Crumb ''not'' included. Canons almost never include those pieces, but I would not argue for their inclusion on a canonical list (maybe I'd argue for Janacek's two), rather I feel reaffirmed in my original dislike of most of the usual canon. Perhaps we could break down the canon list by styles or eras, stating that the Haydn-Mozart-Beethoven-descendents section dominates live performances. User:Hyacinth 00:08, 9 May 2004 (UTC) MUCH BETTER IDEA. Rather than making a ''canonical list'' or a ''favorites list'' we need to determine criteria for a list which is :A) able to change over time :B) quantitative or countable in some manner Thus we could have a ''favorites list'' which could be determined by votes on a List of string quartets. Thus, as more people voted, or people changed their votes, the list would change, based on a countable thing. Or we could have a ''canonical list'' which could be determined by the number of sources which list pieces as part of a canon. Or we could have a ''most performed'' list which could be determined by documentede performances (the same with recordings). Or we could have various lists, because wikipedia is not paper. ::User:Hyacinth 00:27, 9 May 2004 (UTC) :I think "most reported as being canonical" and "most performed" lists would be fine (though probably quite hard to compile), but a list where we all add our favourites (or vote on them), while fun, does not seem to me like the sort of thing we should be putting in a serious encyclopedia. As I say, though, I'm not touching the list for now - I'll try to write some more in the article some time over the next week or so (me saying that shouldn't stop other people doing stuff before I get round to it, of course). --User:Camembert ::I was vaguely ambivalent on this in the first place and really don't want to proceed if Camembert, whose judgment I respect, thinks it's not a good idea. The issue of "seriousness" that Camembert mentions matters to me, too--a list of "editor's preferences" moves us closer to being a chat room than a reference work. ::Here is the copy of the list, which I just removed, in case anyone wants to pursue the issue further. User:Opus33 23:48, 9 May 2004 (UTC) * Joseph Haydn, String Quartets, Op. 33 (six "Russian" quartets) * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet in B flat, K. 458 * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, String Quartet in C, K. 465 * Joseph Haydn, String Quartets, Op. 76 (six "Erdödy" Quartets) * Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartets, Op. 18 (six quartets) * Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartets, Op. 59 (three "Andreas Razumovsky" quartets * Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet no. 14 in C sharp minor, op. 131 * Franz Schubert, String Quartet, no. 14 ("Death and the Maiden"), Otto Erich Deutsch 810 * Johannes Brahms, String Quartet, no. 3, in B flat, op. 67 * Alexander Borodin, String Quartet no. 2, in D * Antonin Dvorak, String Quartet in F, Op. 96 * Claude Debussy, String Quartet in G minor, op. 10 * Maurice Ravel, String Quartet in F * Bela Bartok, Fourth (of six) String Quartet (1928) * George Crumb, Black Angels (Images I), for electric string quartet ---- I would like to solicit opinions on two proposals for reformatting the quartet list. 1) The current format is inconsistent. Some works are dated; some are not. Sometimes opus numbers are given; sometimes they aren't. Sometimes key signature (or the lack thereof) is noted; sometimes it isn't. Sometimes works for string quartet, but which are not String Quartets, are given; sometimes they aren't. Sometimes editorial comments appear ("Juan Crisostomo Arriaga wrote three brilliant quartets before his abrupt death at age 19. Early 19th century Spanish composer."); sometimes they don't ("Arnold Bax - wrote three string quartets"). Furthermore, the verbal formula "Composer ''X'' - wrote ''n'' string quartets" soon becomes tiresome when reading through the list. I suggest that we try to work out a mutually acceptable standard format for entries. I propose the following format: "Composer name - editorial remarks" in the main list. Under each composer in the list there would be a sublist of works ordered chronologically, giving quartet number, key signature, opus number, and date. Here's an example: *Johannes Brahms - Brahms is believed to have composed at least twenty quartets before his published quartets appeared. These unpublished compositions were (it is thought) burned by the famously self-critical composer. Only three works survive. **String Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 51 No. 1 (1868-73) **String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2 (1868-73) **String Quartet No. 3 in B-flat major, Op. 67 (1876) (Incidentally, I notice that the dates in my reference disagree with those on our list - I'll look into this.) In some cases, such as Haydn and Boccherini, the sublist would be so long that I propose a separate page be created for it. Serial works would be noted as such, and subtitles for works ("From My Life"), when they exist, would be given after the work's entry in the sublist. Perhaps someone else has objections to this, or has a better idea for a new format. Accomplishing the reformatting, including doing the necessary research (grab your ''New Grove''!), would be something of a chore, but I think it would improve the usability of the list substantially. 2) I propose creating a list of "contemporary" quartet composers - say, composers whose quartets were mostly or entirely composed in or after 1950. Hyacinth in particular has done a good job of puttting these people on the existing list - thank you! Nevertheless, I think it would be helpful to readers if contemporary composers had a list of their own, analogous to the separation of "classical" composers (List of classical music composers) and twentieth-century composers (list of 20th century classical composers), but in this case on the same page (or a separate page?). User:Physicist 19:24, 10 May 2004 (UTC) I now agree there is no need for a favorites list, or a canonical list. A favorite list is ridiculous, while a canonical list is pointless, since our "complete" list is canonical, our opinion that a composer or work is part of the canon being apparent from their placement on the list. However, if we are to have a "contemporary" list then we must break down whatever remains into appropriate categories, such as "romantic", "baroque", etc., as on the list of composers. User:Hyacinth 22:29, 10 May 2004 (UTC) :I like both ideas (uniform format, sort by era). Perhaps also include composers' life dates? They're pretty relevant in a historical survey. I can help implement all these if this proposal gets consensus support (whatever that means! :=) ). :Please note that a List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn already exists. I will admire the person who's got the patience to do a Boccherini one... User:Opus33 22:46, 10 May 2004 (UTC) ::I like the idea of reformatting the list along the lines of Physicist's Brahms example above - I started to do something similar on a couple of other articles (piano concerto, for example). Once a list reaches a certain length, I think it makes sense. Whether it's better to divide the list by era or have it in one lump, I really don't know. Divided up is nice because smaller sized chunks are easier, but then you have arguments about whether, for example, Beethoven should be under Classical or Romantic or both (the opus 18s are Classical, I suppose, but opus 131 is surely Romantic). So I'll let the rest of you scratch your heads over that one :) ::On dates: I've noticed sources disagree on the dates of pieces quite a lot. I'm not sure, but I think a lot of it comes down to them disagreeing on exactly what you should give the date ''of'': is it the year(s) the piece was composed, or the year it was finished, or the year is was premiered, or the year it was published? All make sense in their way, and they are often all different. Then you have problems about it not always being clear just when a piece ''was'' written. What the best way of working round such inconsistencies might be, I really don't know. In any case, I agree with Opus33 that including a composer's dates is sensible. ::I knew somebody who was contemplating writing their dissertation for their degree on Boccherini's chamber music, by the way. Not heard from them in a couple of years... maybe they got buried under all the scores or something... --User:Camembert ::Oh, a quick PS for Hyacinth (or anybody else who knows, I guess) - is Reich's ''Different Trains'' really for ''double'' quartet? I seem to remember the Kronos's recording of it just has them and the tape on it (of course, they fiddle around with stuff so that's not conclusive, but I think the piece was written for them). --User:Camembert ::::?: http://www.allclassical.com/cg/acg.dll?p=acg&sql=2:9834 User:Hyacinth 03:20, 11 May 2004 (UTC) :::::Hrm. Well, the heading says "double string quartet", but in the text it says "''a'' string quartet". I'll see if I can track down a score, just to set my mind at rest. --User:Camembert :::I like Physicist's idea, and I'll be happy to help out formatting stuff this way (especially after my "new" New Grove arrives by FedEx--thanks Ebay!) Got a chuckle at the Boccherini comment... I can't wait until someone tackles the Havergal Brian symphonies in the same way. Btw there is so much stuff to put on the post-1950 list... thanks for starting it Hyacinth. Regarding how to date things--tough one. I have been putting date of composition where I know it, but my reference often has the date of publication instead. Maybe use an abbreviation where we know (c, prem, pub, etc.) Best wishes everyone, User:Antandrus 00:45, 11 May 2004 (UTC) ::::Since the proposal for a uniform format seems to have met with a congenial reception, I'll begin reformatting entries as time permits. I think the idea of adding dates for the composers is a good one. I'll also start work on the Boccherini. (The Brian I leave for someone else!) ::::I think that Antandrus is exactly correct when he remarks that "... there is so much stuff to put on the post-1950 list... ". It is for this reason that I feel that the usability of both the pre- and post-1950 sectors might be improved by promoting them to separate lists. Camembert points out the difficulty and artificiality of further subdividing the pre-1950 list. I think that there is little need to do this, as I do not believe it will expand that much further. Most current growth is in the post-1950 sector. Another factor is noted by Hyacinth: "..our "complete" list is canonical, our opinion that a composer or work is part of the canon being apparent from their placement on the list." Works that are still performed, recorded, and studied after (say) fifty years have, I feel, a stronger claim to be regarded as canonical than more recent works. Thus the pre-/post-1950 division represents one way of segregating the canonical from the non- (or not-yet-) canonical. ::::User:Physicist 14:32, 11 May 2004 (UTC) :::::Like I said, I'm not going to get too involved in questions of sub-divisions, but here's something possibly interesting to consider: eleven of the fifteen string quartets of that canonical guy Dmitri Shostakovich were written after 1950. --User:Camembert ::::::Yes, I was aware of that as I wrote my comment, and it ''is'' interesting to consider. One wonders if Shostakovich will still be quite so canonical fifty or a hundred years from now. I'm inclined to believe that the answer is "Yes", but that's just a personal opinion, and I think it would be stimulating to place Shostakovich with the other "contemporary" composers and thus to acknowledge, at least implicitly, that our critical comprehension of him may be misguided and our canonization premature. User:Physicist 17:23, 11 May 2004 (UTC) Before we make the pre/post 1950 split, I think we should talk just a wee bit more about it. Mainly, why 1950? I think many pieces didn't take 50 years to enter the repertory, they have just stayed for 100 years. User:Hyacinth 03:00, 13 May 2004 (UTC) *Settled. I think the every 50 year splits are great. User:Hyacinth 22:56, 19 May 2004 (UTC) ::::::: Adding my belated vote (having added to the problem if it is perceived as one) to the splitting off of a List of string quartets and some smaller, debatable list to be retained here, with a greater emphasis on the medium, its history (important points within), balance problems, ... more readily visible once the list is split off. User:Schissel : User_talk:Schissel 04:39, May 25, 2005 (UTC) ==Quartet vs Symphony== Often string quartets are the only, or at least first, works I like by a composer. I think the reason is that they are recorded, produced, and/or mixed far differently from pieces for large forces such as symphonies. When I listen to a symphony on CD I always feel that I'm sitting ''outside'' the hall, whereas with a string quartet recording I feel like I'm sitting ''in the middle'' of the quartet. Anyone able to confirm or cite this? User:Hyacinth 02:45, 13 May 2004 (UTC) :Only at the level of intuition, nothing that could make encyclopedia copy. I have a couple of quartet recordings where the microphones were apparently placed at the back of a very live hall, so the listener doesn't feel "in the middle" in any way. This is exasperating. :Perhaps [http://www.cello.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=tips&tip=tip38 this link] would be of interest concerning the "insideness" question. User:Opus33 04:13, 13 May 2004 (UTC) ==Most often or often== I think "string quartet" most often, not often, refers to two violins, one viola, and one cello as I can't think of counterexamples. User:Hyacinth 23:14, 27 Sep 2004 (UTC) :If the instrumentation is given as "string quartet" with no further elaboration, the instrumentation is ''always'' assumed to be two violins, viola and cello. I think it is misleading to imply anything else. User:Antandrus 16:20, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC) ::Ditto. If Marcus2 would like to add a bunch of real examples of strangely-scored string quartets then I'll be convinced, but otherwise it will soon be time to re-revert. User:Opus33 :::Hrm. (Yes, I'm opening up a somewhat old thread, and don't ask me what I regard as ''very'' old.) There's Reger's D minor op. posth. but that has bass ad libitum and probably mentions it in the title, and the obvious other example, Schoenberg op. 10, (etc. etc. ...) Since Sculthorpe's String quartet 13 'Island Dreaming' has an elaborated title but not one that mentions that it's a quintet for soprano and quartet or so I gather, how to classify it? (And does Leon Stein's fifth quartet, with soprano, mention the latter in the title? Admittedly, these are quintets.) User:Schissel : User_talk:Schissel 20:26, May 24, 2005 (UTC) ==Form or group?== Is the string quartet a form or a group? Should it be in one, the other, or both categories? The article currently states: *"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." Musical form states that --User:RobertG ♬ User talk:RobertG 15:53, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)form is also: *"a generic type of composition such as the symphony or concerto." And later *"Forms of chamber music are defined by instrumentation (string quartet, piano quintet and so on). The structure of a chamber work is typically similar to a sonata." all of which implies that string quartet may be legitimately categorized as a :Category:Musical form. User:Hyacinth 02:36, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC) See also: Category talk:Musical forms. User:Hyacinth 02:52, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC) :Form should be defined as the organizing principle in music, or how musical ideas/notes/etc. are organized within a whole. I must admit fault here for not actually checking the article Musical form before making changes; this was something I assumed. Something like a string quartet is an entity that exhibits form, not one that exists as form. The above example should be rephrased: "String quartets in the Classical and Romantic as well as symphonies and concertos, usually belonged in the sonata genre consisting of four movements....." String quartets, symphonies, concertos in any time period, especially within the last hundred years, certainly have no obligation to follow sonata form, much less any specific form; for example, a theoretical string quartet consisting entirely of fugues. The statment defining form as "a generic type of composition such as the symphony or concerto" is misleading; string quartets, symphonies, and concertos are more accurately described as a type of instrumentation, orchestration, or arrangement, something not at all related to form except in loose correlations. :This statement "Forms of chamber music are defined by instrumentation (string quartet, piano quintet and so on). The structure of a chamber work is typically similar to a sonata" is confusing in that its language is not clearly differentiating between a form or structure of music or a form of chamber music, i.e., a form of instrumentation, or way of organizing instruments within an ensemble. The statement that "chamber music is typically similar to a sonata", again, is vague; it is describing a specific phenomena found in Classical and Romantic chamber music. --User:Bleh fu 06:59, Jan 14, 2005 (UTC) ::There is a distinction between "should be" and "currently is". Since one goal of Wikipedia is to accurately describe reality, since people ''do'' describe instrumentation using the word form, then Wikipedia should describe this practice as it ''currently is''. If you have a source that argues that things ''should be'' different, feel free to add that POV (point of view). ::Regarding the categorization, what are the best alternatives to "Category:Musical forms" for instrumentations? "Category:Types of ensembles"? User:Hyacinth 23:18, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC) :::I've moved the discussion to :Talk:Musical form; I think it's more relevant there, as it encompasses more than just string quartets. --User:Bleh fu 03:14, Jan 15, 2005 (UTC) : Sorry if I'm revisiting an old discussion, but I'm relatively new and it does seem to me that this article is describing two different things. The words "string quartet" do mean both the ensemble and a composition for that ensemble, but the fact that the terms are the same does not mean that they are interchangeable. If the ensemble were called a ''Four-stringed Foursome'' and the composition form were called ''Sonata Archi a 4'' I am sure we would not have the description of both on the one page. : My main discomfort comes from the incongruity of having the category String Quartets which contains both the Borodin Quartet and String Quartet No. 2 (Borodin), which is surely confusing. I think the category should be split, even if this article is not. : This article is very lucid; however if a single term refers to two different things, Wikipedia's general practice appears to be to create a disambiguation page. --User:RobertG ♬ User talk:RobertG 15:53, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

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