performed by the Nash Ensemble, or below (cover image by Gaetano Cessati) Mozart’s second flute quartet, in G major, was written, or at least completed, in 1778. Three of Mozart’s four flute quartets, I guess, were written for “amateur flautist … Continue reading Mozart Flute Quartet no. 2 in G, K. 285a
performed by the Hagen Quartet (cover image by Ehud Neuhaus) Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 14 in G, K. 387
performed by Joszef Kiss and the Kodály Quartet, or below by Alexei Ogrintchouk, oboe; Baiba Skride, violin; Veronika Hagen, viola; Sol Gabetta, cello (cover image by Anita Austvika) Mozart’s Oboe quartet dates from 1781, a few years later than the … Continue reading Mozart Oboe Quartet in F, K. 370
performed by the Grumiaux Trio and William Bennett, or as below by Ensemble Connect (cover image by Aleyna Rentz) With this piece, we jump ahead a bit in Mozart’s chronology, to 1777. The work was apparently completed on Christmas day … Continue reading Mozart Flute Quartet no. 1 in D, K. 285
It was almost six months ago to the day that I first knew that the Quatuor Diotima would be visiting Taiwan, and that was the same week I posted an article I spent a lot of time preparing for, only to share … Continue reading Quatuor Diotima in Taipei
performed by the Talich Quartet, or below in a nice performance from the Halcyon Music Festival with a small introduction The opening of this work seems like such a mature, polished, well-executed work for a young, early composition like a first string … Continue reading Mendelssohn String Quartet no. 1 in E flat, op. 12
performed by the Arditti quartet The string quartet under discussion begins at this point in the above video, or from here In searching for information about this quartet, I came to find that there is very little discussion virtually anywhere of Berio’s almost-earliest work … Continue reading Berio: Quartetto (1956)
performed by the Cicada Quartet Maderna’s Quartet is the hardest nut to crack [on the album], with its fragmented phrases and restless rhythms and dynamics. But behind the notes the Cikadas’ deeply committed playing reveals glimpses of a dramatic personality … Continue reading Bruno Maderna: Quartetto per archi in due tempi
performed by the Talich quartet To be clear, this is not Mendelssohn’s String Quartet no. 1 (which is confusingly also in E-flat major) but it is his first string quartet. This one was written in 1823, but not published until 1879. At the time of writing, the fourteen-year … Continue reading Mendelssohn String Quartet in E-flat, (posth.)
again, performed by the Buchberger Quartet, or below by the Kodàly Quartet no. 8 no. 9 no. 10 Contained in this opus number are four quartets, per Wikipedia: Quartet No. 7 in A major, Op. 2, No. 1, FHE No. … Continue reading SQS: Haydn’s Divertimenti a Quattro, op. 2
played by any of the people in the recordings listed here, or as below (more detail on the performers later, but they are listed in the YouTube video’s info “… the general lesson of Composition for Four Instruments is that … Continue reading Babbitt: Composition for Four Instruments
performed by the Juilliard String Quartet find all the movements in this playlist on YouTube This piece has been revisited, and an updated article has been written. Please read it here. I’ll keep the original article (below) for posterity, but … Continue reading Webern: Fünf Sätze für Streichquartett, op. 5
Performed by the Lasalle Quartet Oh, Mr. Zemlinsky (von Zemlinsky?), what a life you must have had, but how few people know of you now. This piece we will talk about today, the fourth and final of your string quartets, was dedicated to a student of your student, Alban Berg, whose piano sonata we recently talked about. It is the only piece of yours I own or have heard, but I am intrigued and interested in what else you have to offer, and for the third and final part of our music-I-enjoy-and-appreciate-but-don’t-really-understand-so-can’t-say-anything-terribly-constructive-or-educational-or-useful-about-so-take-this-with-a-grain-of-salt series, we end up here. I am interested … Continue reading Alexander von Zemlinsky: String Quartet no. 4
Fugue for Thought 