performed by the New Vienna String Quartet (above is the first ‘movement’; the entire work is available from this playlist) I have conducted the most difficult scores of Wagner; I have written complicated music myself in scores of up to … Continue reading Schoenberg String Quartet no. 1, op. 7
performed by the Kubín Quartet This work, unlike many of the quartets from Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert (and Haydn) that we’ve discussed so far, while still bearing a ‘no. 1’ moniker, is not a first attempt, nor is it a youthful work. … Continue reading Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf String Quartet no. 1 in D
performed by the Melos Quartet, or below (which I believe is the exact same recording, though uncredited and un-movement-ed) I’m not sure what to make of this work. I’ve found very little about it online, often referred to as a … Continue reading Schubert String Quartet no. 2 in C, D. 32
performed by the Melos Quartet This quartet is listed in some places as being in “various” or mixed keys. The Kalmus Study Score that I rented from the library (volume one of three) lists it as C minor. In any … Continue reading Schubert String Quartet no. 1, D. 18
performed by the Amadeus Quartet This first string quartet effort, when the composer was only fourteen years old, has charm and interest in spades compared to the first efforts of Papa Haydn. While I’m sure his divertimenti served their intended … Continue reading W. A. Mozart String Quartet no. 1 in G, K. 80
performed by the Artemis quartet, or below by in a fantastic performance by the Ariel Quartet And here we are at Beethoven’s first quartets. Like Haydn’s op. 1 and others after, Beethoven’s no. 18 is a collection of six quartets, published … Continue reading Beethoven String Quartet no. 1 in F, op. 18, no. 1
performed by the Buchberger Quartet The opus 9 quartets, with links to performances of the works (not by Buchberger), are as follows: Quartet No. 11 in D minor, Op. 9, No. 4, FHE No. 16, Hoboken No. III:22 Quartet No. … Continue reading SQS: Haydn String Quartets #12-16, op. 9
performed (in the only existing recording I am aware of) by the Fine Arts quartet, the dedicatee of the work As with any relatively intricate composition, further rehearings or — more realistically— further recalling should lead the listener from those local coherences … Continue reading Babbitt String Quartet no. 3
performed by the Quatuor Parisii from the DG box set the Livre pour Quatuor, from its history as well as its overall economy, does not appear as a bloc but, in reference to Mallarmé’s Livre, like a series of detachable pages that … Continue reading Pierre Boulez: Livre pour Quatuor (1962)
performed below by the Playground Ensemble Of all the quartets discussed so far, I feel this one has the traditional(ish) ideas of Schoenberg, the dense intensity and purpose of Babbitt, and the deep impression and atmosphere of Dutilleux, although I … Continue reading Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet 1931
performed by the New Vienna String Quartet (Neues Wiener Streichquartett) A playlist with all four movements can be found here. “…it awakens feelings that are not far from those caused by euphony.” From this article, which I’ll cite also below … Continue reading Schoenberg String Quartet no. 4, op. 37
performed by the Composers Quartet There was until recently no YouTube Video to share, but one has appeared, and I’m not sure how long it will stay up. There’s only one (studio?) recording of this piece, to my knowledge, and … Continue reading Babbitt String Quartet no. 2
performed by the Arditti quartet, or below by the Belcea Quartet The piece, as discussed below, is in a total of eleven different sections. For specific links to these sections within this recording, please see below. There’s also a video included … Continue reading Henri Dutilleux: Ainsi la Nuit
I have come to love string quartets. It seems this group of four instruments has the perfect balance of succinct compactness, clarity, cohesion, and range of expression. There are times when a quartet sounds perfectly like a quartet, with four … Continue reading Some 20th Century String Quartets: A small series
performed by the Kohon Quartet (Bernard Zaslav was violist, and is a former member of the Fine Arts quartet, whose wonderful performance [and sole recording] of Babbitt’s third string quartet I recently got my hands on) It’s always odd looking … Continue reading Berg String Quartet, op. 3
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
Fugue for Thought 