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The Juilliard String Quartet performing in 1963.
The Juilliard String Quartet performing in 1963. The Juilliard String Quartet is a classical music string Quartet founded in 1946 at the Juilliard School in New York

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. A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music

Contents

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", which usually plays the melody line in the higher register of notes, and the "second" violin, which plays lower notes in harmony), one viola and one cello. The violin is a bowed String instrument with four strings usually tuned in Perfect fifths It is the smallest and highest-pitched member The viola is a bowed String instrument. It is the middle voice of the Violin family, The violoncello (abbreviated to cello, or 'cello, plural cellos or celli —the c is tʃ Should a composer create music for four other string instruments — for instance, three violins and a 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. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system

A composition for four players of stringed instruments may be in any form, but traditionally, the term String Quartet (with or without a subtitle) was usually in four movements, with a large-scale structure similar to that of a symphony. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The outer movements were typically fast, the inner movements in classical quartet consisting of a slow movement and a dance movement of some sort (e. g. , minuet, scherzo, furiant), in either order. A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a Social dance of French origin for two persons usually in 3/4 time. A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a piece of Music or a movement in a certain style that forms part of a larger piece such as a Symphony. A Furiant is a rapid and fiery Bohemian Dance in 2/4 and 3/4 time, with frequently shifting accents. Despite some notable examples to the contrary, the twentieth century saw this structure being increasingly abandoned by composers, although substantial modifications to the typical structure were already achieved in Beethoven's later quartets.

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, cello or double bass; the string trio, which contains one violin, a viola, and a cello; and the piano quartet, a string quartet with one of the violins replaced by a piano. A piano quintet is a chamber Musical ensemble made up of one Piano and four other instruments or a piece written for such a group The piano is a Musical instrument played by means of a keyboard that produces sound by striking steel strings with Felt covered hammers A string quintet is an ensemble of five String instrument players or a piece written for such a combination A string trio is a group of three String instruments or a piece written for such a group A piano quartet is a Musical ensemble consisting of a Piano and three other instruments or a piece written for such a group

History

The form first came to be used after the middle of the 18th century. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system 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. Divertimento (from italian divertire - to amuse is a music genre with most of its examples stemming from the 18th century This article is about the musical form See Serenade (disambiguation for other meanings 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. In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert " Haydn occasionally played his quartets on social occasions in an impromptu quartet ensemble of which Mozart was also a member.

Ever since Haydn's day, the string quartet has been prestigious, and considered a true test of the classical composer's art. This may be partly due to the fact that the palette of sound is more restricted than with orchestral music, forcing the music to stand more on its own rather than relying on tonal color; or from the inherently contrapuntal tendency in music written for four equal instruments. An orchestra is an instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string brass woodwind sections and possibly a percussion section as well In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony

Quartet composition flourished in the Classical era, with both Mozart and Beethoven writing famous series of quartets to set alongside Haydn's. The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. A slight slackening in the pace of quartet composition occurred in the 19th century; here, a curious phenomenon was seen in 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, and played a key role in the development of Arnold Schoenberg, Bela Bartok, and Dmitri Shostakovich especially. Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25 1881&ndashSeptember 26 1945 was a Hungarian Composer and Pianist, considered to be one of the greatest Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich ( Russian: ru Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович ( &ndash 9 August 1975 was a Russian Composer Most recently, the quartets of Elliot Carter, which span the length of his long and illustrious career, have been highly admired. Elliott Cook Carter Jr (born in New York City on December 11, 1908) is an American Composer from New York City.

Important string quartets

Some of the most popular or widely acclaimed works for string quartet written between the 18th century and the 1980s, include:

String quartets (ensembles)

For the purposes of performance, groups of string players sometimes group together to make ad hoc string quartets. "Adagio for Strings" is a work for String orchestra, arranged by the American Composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet György Ligeti 's String Quartet No 2 was composed during 1968 (March to July and consists of five movements Allegro nervoso Sostenuto Henri Dutilleux (born January 22, 1916 in Angers France) is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century producing Other groups continue playing together for many years, sometimes changing their members but retaining their name. Well-known string quartets can be found on the list of string quartet ensembles. This is a list of recognized String quartets in alphabetical order

String Quartet Form

Perhaps the most influential of all String Quartet composers, Haydn, set out the main form for the String Quartet.

(In the 19th century and onwards, this structure, tonal and otherwise, was increasingly abandoned. )

See also

Further reading

External links

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