BachElit · Original series archive
The String Quartet
20 March 2016
“If two violins, a viola and a cello play the same piece together (…) that does not necessarily make them a string quartet. Why?”
Original introduction (English translation)
What makes this genre so extraordinary? Alongside their symphonies and operas, the great composers wrote some of their most important works for these four instruments. Did you know that Beethoven wrote sixteen string quartets, but only one violin concerto?
If two violins, a viola and a cello play the same piece together (at the same tempo, with any luck), that does not necessarily make them a string quartet. Why?
Musical examples
- Bach: Fugue in C major from The Well-Tempered Clavier (arr. Péter Mező)
- Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4, Menuet alla zingarese
- Haydn: String Quartet in D major, Op. 20 No. 4, Un poco adagio e affettuoso
- Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 20 No. 1, Affettuoso e sostenuto
- Mozart: String Quartet in C major, “Dissonance”, K. 465, Adagio – Allegro
- Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 33 No. 2
- Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 18 No. 1, Allegro con brio
- Beethoven: String Quartet in F major, Op. 18 No. 1, Scherzo – Allegro molto
- Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, I. Lento
- Puccini: Three Minuets, No. 3
- Leó Weiner: Fox Dance
- Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, II. Allegretto
- Bartók: String Quartet No. 1, Introduzione
- Debussy: String Quartet, Assez vif et bien rythmé
- Haydn: String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Finale
These links come from the original 2015–2016 pages. The availability of external videos and playlists depends on their providers. Descriptions are translated here; linked materials remain in their original languages.