[Quartet] Masterpieces and Popular Pieces for String Quartet

String Quartet No. 14 in G major, K. 387 “Spring”Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart: String Quartet No. 14, Spring | Gewandhaus Quartet

Among Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s string quartets, this piece is known as a particularly captivating work.

Completed in 1782, it is the first of the set of six quartets dedicated to Haydn.

Distinguished by bright, lively melodies that evoke the arrival of spring, each of its four movements presents a different character.

From the energetic themes of the first movement to the gentle, song-like melody of the third, it is as if the music expresses the many faces of spring.

Showcasing Mozart’s genius for composition to the fullest, this work is recommended not only for classical music enthusiasts but also for those encountering a string quartet for the first time.

String Quartet No. 12 in F major, Op. 96 “American,” II. MovementAntonín Dvořák

String Quartet in F Major, Op. 96, “American” by Antonín Dvořák – Lento

Dvořák, who was from the Czech lands, came to the United States to serve as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York.

Living far from home in America, a country with a different history and culture, he became interested in African American spirituals and the music of Native Americans, and began incorporating these elements into his own works.

The piece known as “American” is one of the works in which you can feel the inspiration he drew from his life in the United States.

This movement, which is the second, is a moving slow movement: it sings out a plaintive melody reminiscent of a spiritual, then the cello takes it up and plays a Bohemian-style folk tune, creating a movement imbued with nostalgia.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

HATSUMI

Report a problem

String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130: V. “Cavatina”Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130: V. Cavatina (arr. for Strings)

A string quartet captivates with the elegant resonance of string instruments.

One of its masterpieces is a late work by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Composed between 1825 and 1826, it is characterized by delicate, beautiful melodies.

It’s hard to believe it was written when he had completely lost his hearing, such is the richness of Beethoven’s musical imagination.

The leisurely lines that unfold in stillness seem to express the composer’s inner struggles and deep emotions.

It is a piece I would love even beginners to classical music to hear at least once.

Wrapped in the sonority of strings, why not listen for Beethoven’s inner voice?

String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D 810 “Death and the Maiden”, Fourth MovementFranz Schubert

String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810 “Death and the Maiden”: IV. Presto

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.”

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

HATSUMI

Report a problem

String Quartet in F Major, Second MovementMaurice Ravel

Enso Quartet: Ravel String Quartet: II. Assez vif. Très rythme

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.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

HATSUMI

Report a problem

String Quartet No. 19 in C major, K. 465 “Dissonance,” First MovementWolfgang Amadeus Mozart

String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, K. 465 – “Dissonances”: I. Adagio – Allegro (Extended Version)

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.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

HATSUMI

Report a problem

SummaArvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt – Summa

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.

expand_lessRaise the rankingexpand_morelower

HATSUMI

Report a problem