performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Irina Blok) Mozart’s ninth string quartet, the second of the set of six called the ‘Viennese quartets,’ was composed in (August of) 1773. (Apparently, according to … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 9 in A, K. 169
performed by the Quatuor Diotima, or below by the Lasalle Quartet (cover image by Dhruv Weaver) Webern’s string quartet, the only work to be so labeled by him (even though he composed other things for four strings), is also his … Continue reading Webern String Quartet, op. 28
performed by the Novosibirsk “Filarmonica” String Quartet (cover image by Zach Reiner) Roslavets again, this time in what I find to be a far more compelling piece. We discussed last week that Roslavets, as if nearly disappearing from the face of … Continue reading Roslavets String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Rachel Lynette French) Well, here we are again, continuing to slog away at Mozart’s enormous catalogue of works. Just kidding; it’s not a chore. It’s just … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 8 in F, K. 168
performed by the Quatuor Ravel (cover image by Jose Tebar) Jean Francique-Étienne Martinon was born on January 10, 1910 in Lyon. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Albert Roussel for composition, Charles Munch for conducting, and harmony under … Continue reading Jean Martinon: String Quartet no. 1, op. 43
performed by the Ardeo Quartet (cover image by Daniil Kuzelev) Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin was born on November 27, 1867 in Paris, the youngest of a large family. His father died when he was 14. His family hoped he would be an … Continue reading Charles Koechlin: String Quartet no. 2, op. 57
performed by Quatuor Diotima, available on Spotify or below second, third and fourth movements (cover image by Dmitrii Medvedev) André Georges Louis Onslow was born on 27 July 1784 in Clermont-Ferrand to an English farmer and French mother, thus considered … Continue reading Georges Onslow: String Quartet no. 28 in E-flat, op. 54
performed by the Quatuor à Cordes Jean-Noël Molard, available on Spotify, or as below in a(n incomplete) video by the Amistad String Quartet (cover image by Carolyn V) Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges was born on December 25, 1745 in Baillif, Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, … Continue reading Chevalier de Saint-Georges: String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Kontra Quartet (no YouTube, but you can listen to the work, at least to snippets, at Dacapo’s website for the complete quartets, here, or on Spotify, if that’s something you have. (cover image by Jeremy Bishop) Holmboe’s … Continue reading Holmboe String Quartet no. 3
performed by the Arditti Quartet (I find it unbelievable that the Arditti Quartet’s recordings are no longer in print and are therefore not available on Spotify or anywhere. Some copies can still be found on Amazon or other places, as … Continue reading Henze String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Brenda Godinez) The seventh quartet of W. A. Mozart is the last of the so-called ‘Milanese quartets,’ written while the young composer was in Italy, and showing … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 7 in E flat, K. 160
performed by the Amadeus Quartet, or below by the Festetics Quartet (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) Mozart’s sixth string quartet dates from 1773, again very early in his output, as evidenced by the low catalogue number. As part of the … Continue reading Mozart String Quartet no. 6 in B flat, K. 159
performed by the Potomac Quartet So the first quartet really is a work inspired by Mr. Broch’s great novel called The Death of Virgil. he was working on it, finishing it then… and so when I finished the quartet, I knew … Continue reading Diamond String Quartet no. 1
performed by the Kyndel Quartet (available here on Spotify) (cover image by Rodion Kutsaev) Here we are introducing the next composer in our Editor’s Choice lineup, Hilding Rosenberg. We’ve only seen him once on the blog before, and yet here … Continue reading Rosenberg String Quartet no. 1, op. 9
performed by the Artemis Quartet, or in a superb performance below by the American Quartet I am thinking of devoting myself almost entirely to this type of composition… Beethoven, to a publisher, regarding his composition of the Razumovsky quartets (cover … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 7 in F, op. 59 no. 1
performed by the Emerson String Quartet, or below by the Juilliard Quartet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYifcDt4ToA (cover image by Patrick Hendry) We’re going on a little journey. Come with me. Back to Bartók, and now in the second half of his output of … Continue reading Bartók String Quartet no. 4, Sz. 91
performed by the Sjælland String Quartet (cover image by Kawin Harasai) Paul August von Klenau was born on February 11, 1883 in Copenhagen, and he there studied under Otto Malling, who himself studied under Niels Gade. (I wrote about Malling’s … Continue reading Paul von Klenau: String Quartet no. 1 in Em
performed by the Artemis Quartet or below by the Alban Berg Quartett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4pkT371U9g (cover image by Shane Stagner) Well, here we are, the final installment of the groundbreaking op. 18 quartets. Op. 18 no. 6 is the only one of … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 6 in B flat, op. 18, no. 6
performed by the Kontra Quartet (unfortunately there isn’t a recording on YouTube, but go check out all of Holmboe’s quartets on Spotify) (cover image by Trần Anh Tuấn) Covering this second quartet today means we’re 10% of the way through his twenty … Continue reading Holmboe String Quartet no. 2, op. 47
performed by the Artemis Quartet, or below by the Alban Berg Quartett https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B9ftTBLJU0 (cover image by Andreea Chidu) We’re finally nearing the end of Beethoven’s op. 18 quartets that he published in 1801. This fifth quartet in the series of … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 5 in A, op. 18, no. 5
performed by the Delmé Quartet (cover image by Cassie Boca) We will in due course get to the composer’s fourth, fifth, and sixth quartets, which are their own trilogy with a spiritual connection to Beethoven’s three Razumovsky quartets. This third … Continue reading Simpson String Quartet no. 3
Fugue for Thought 