[Quartet] Masterpieces and Popular Pieces for String Quartet
The string quartet drew attention not only from classical music fans but also from a wider audience after being featured in the 2017 TV drama “Quartet.”
Perhaps some of you were captivated by its charm through the show.
A string quartet is a form of chamber ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello.
Since being established in the late 18th century by Franz Joseph Haydn, it has been cherished as the most refined form of chamber music.
In this article, we introduce masterpieces brimming with the allure of the string quartet.
Please enjoy the elegant and refined resonance of string instruments.
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[Quartet] Masterpieces and Popular Pieces for String Quartet (11–20)
String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810 “Death and the Maiden”, Fourth MovementFranz Schubert
The year before 1824, when Schubert is said to have begun this work, he suffered from ill health, and perhaps as a result, all four movements are written in a minor key, giving the piece a distinctly sorrowful mood.
The work was officially published two and a half years after Schubert’s death.
The urgent, tarantella-like finale is striking for its powerful character, with dramatic melodies woven throughout.
Because the second movement quotes the melody of his famous song “Der Tod und das Mädchen” (Death and the Maiden), this piece is also affectionately known as “Death and the Maiden.”
String Quartet in F Major, Second MovementMaurice Ravel
Ravel, the French composer famous for works such as Daphnis et Chloé and Boléro, was a composer of Impressionist music, one of the classical music movements that emerged in early 20th-century France.
It was born from applying the new technique of “Impressionism,” widely used at the time by painters like Monet, Renoir, and Cézanne in the French art world, to the realm of music.
This piece makes a striking impression by beginning with pizzicato, a technique in which all four instruments pluck the strings, and as the piece unfolds, the mood shifts rapidly, conjuring up a variety of scenes in the listener’s mind.
String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 “Dissonance,” First MovementWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
One of the six string quartets known as the “Haydn Set,” dedicated to Haydn, a representative composer of the Classical era.
Because its first movement opens with an introduction full of dissonances, it is nicknamed the “Dissonance.” The sonorities were hard to comprehend at the time, and when the work was published, they were even thought to be the result of a copying error.
It is said that this piece is Mozart’s musical representation of the profound impression made on him by his initiation ritual into the Freemasons.
The striking contrast between the dissonant opening and the subsequent melodies is a defining feature.
SummaArvo Pärt
Composed in 1977 as the Credo, one of the movements of a choral Mass, it was later arranged for string quartet.
This work by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt bears the title “Summa,” which in Latin means “the whole” or “complete collection.” The piece is written in Pärt’s so-called tintinnabuli style and is characterized by simple harmonies and straightforward rhythms, reminiscent of Gregorian chant from the 8th–9th centuries and Renaissance music from the 14th–16th centuries.
It exudes a solemn atmosphere, as if it were resonating within a church.
G SongTerry Riley
Terry Riley is an American composer and one of the leading figures of minimal music—music that minimizes motion and repeats patterned figures.
This piece is the first work Riley wrote for the Kronos Quartet.
As the music unfolds, the 16-bar opening theme, which includes the G minor scale, is repeated many times.
With each repetition, the music changes little by little, and before you know it, the theme itself disperses and goes somewhere else.
Listen for the way the theme’s color and shape shift moment by moment!
String Quartet No. 1 in E minor “From My Life,” Fourth MovementBedřich Smetana
This is a string quartet composed by Smetana, widely known for The Moldau from Má vlast, and it carries the subtitle From My Life.
Each of the four movements has its own theme, unfolding like a recollection of the composer’s early life.
The first movement is written under the theme “My youthful longing for art, the Romantic atmosphere,” expressing Smetana’s strong yearning for Prague, having been born in Bohemia.
Notable are the viola’s melody, at once passionate and tinged with anxiety and restlessness, and the violin’s flowing harmonies that seem to soothe this tension.
String Quartet No. 67 in D major, Op. 64 No. 5, Hob. III:63 “The Lark,” II. AndanteFranz Joseph Haydn
Haydn, an Austrian composer who represents the Classical era.
Because he wrote many symphonies and string quartets, he is known as the “Father of the Symphony” and the “Father of the String Quartet.” This piece was composed at the request of Johann Tost, a violinist in the Esterházy court orchestra and also a businessman.
The title “Lark” was given because the melody that appears at the beginning of the first movement sounds like a lark’s song.
The second movement has a calm and warm character, like the cheerfulness of spring.
The Art of Fugue in D minor, BWV 1080: Contrapunctus 14J.S.Bach
The Art of Fugue, composed by Bach—known as the “Father of Music.” In the late 1740s, during the final years of his life, publication was being prepared alongside the composition, but the composer’s eyesight deteriorated rapidly, and work on Contrapunctus 14 was halted while still unfinished.
In addition, although it is performed today by various ensembles such as piano, string quartet, and orchestra, the piece leaves many mysteries since no instruments are specified.
It is a work whose appeal lies in Bach’s characteristically rigorous form and its solemn yet pleasing harmonic sonorities.
The Wind in High Places, No. 2: Maclaren SummitJohn Luther Adams
The music of American composer John Luther Adams is influenced by nature, particularly the Alaskan landscapes where he lived from 1978 to 2014.
This piece is inspired by McLaren Summit, the second-highest road in Alaska.
McLaren Summit offers magnificent views of the Alaska Range, the McLaren Glacier, and the McLaren River, as well as wildflowers, ground squirrels, and ptarmigans.
This piece expresses the wind that blows along this high-altitude, nature-rich road.
Concerto for Four Voices No. 1 in G minor, Third MovementBaldassare Galuppi
Baldassare Galuppi was a Venetian composer active in the mid-18th century.
He is particularly renowned as a composer of opera buffa—comic operas based on everyday life that originated in Naples in the early 18th century.
This set of Concerti for Four Voices showcases beautiful melodic writing built upon solid technique.
While it carries a solemn dignity reminiscent of Baroque music, it also possesses the brightness and lightness of opera buffa—a work that truly stands at the crossroads between the Baroque and Classical eras.