| String Quartet | |
|---|---|
| No. 4 | |
| Early string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven | |
 The opening bars of the first movement from a 19th-century publication | |
| Key | C minor |
| Opus | 18, No. 4 |
| Composed | 1798–1800 |
| Dedication | Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz |
| Published | 1801 |
| Movements | Four |
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, Op. 18, No. 4, between 1798 and 1800 in Vienna and published in 1801. The Op. 18 collection is dedicated to Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.
The Op. 18 collection is sometimes difficult to study historically because the manuscripts no longer exist and much about them is conjecture or guesses. The fourth quartet is unique in the set in that there is no evidence that sketches or drafts of this quartet can be found. He would often draw upon earlier works when looking for inspiration, keeping journals of sketches and notes. [1] For this reason, it may have been the last to have been composed. [2] [3] The piece is also monothematic. The key of the piece, C minor, is the only minor key in the set. This key used in other composition of Beethoven's such as Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Sonata Pathetique" and Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. [2] These pieces are similar in their level of intensity and stormy mood, a character which seems to be a partial product of Beethoven's use of C minor in compositions.
As with all of the Op. 18 quartets, the String Quartet No. 4 follows the four-movement format. The second movement is a fugal scherzo rather than the more typical slow movement.
The movement is in sonata form. It begins softly, but urgently, with ostinato eighth notes in the cello, while the first violin climbs ever higher through a series of leaps. This first subject culminates as the transition takes over in m. 13 with alternating tonic and dominant chords between the first violin and the other three instruments. The second subject is delayed, but enters at m. 33. It expands on the same rhythmic figure present in mm. 5-7. The development starts at m. 76. The recapitulation is from mm. 136-202 followed by a coda starting in m. 202. [4] [2] The first movement contains one clear relationship to another piece by Beethoven, his "mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern" (Duet for a Pair of Obbligato Eyeglasses) for viola and cello. [5] [6]
This movement replaces what would normally be slow movement in traditional classical movement structure with a scherzo fugue. Like the first movement, it is in sonata form. In the beginning of the movement the second violin begins the piece, followed by the viola in m. 6, the first violin in m. 10, and the cello in m. 13. [4] The first subject is from mm. 1-42, but is divided into two sections. In m. 33, a transition takes place until m. 42, where the second subject begins. [2] M. 83 marks the beginning of the development section which begins with more fugal motives before transitioning into a chordal, then a fugal chordal section, and finally a recapitulation is reached at m. 147. This movement showcases Beethoven composition skills through the use of counterpoint and polyphony. [3]
This movement is a minuet trio. In contrast with more delicate minuets of the era, this one is more serious in nature. The sforzandos placed on the 16th note of the dotted figure gives the open an almost unbalanced or off-kilter feeling. The trio is distinctive for its reversing of primary voices. The first violin plays a more accompanimental role of constant triplet eighth notes while the second violin and viola trade the melody in a call-and-response motive. [4]
This movement is in rondo form. The principal subject lasts through the first 16 measures. There is a fermata in m. 12 preceded by a leap approached in contrary motion by the first violin and viola that presents itself as a question-like gesture that is then answered with a phrase similar to the opening consequent, ending on a unison C by means of a cadence. This resolution, with its absence of a third leads to slight ambiguity in key, which is taken advantage of later in the piece. The attempted modulation from C minor to C major is a constant source of development, only reaching its full climax in the prestissimo coda from m. 163 to the end. [1]
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| Other | |
The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. The double bass is almost never used in the ensemble mainly because it would sound too loud and heavy.
The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse. As with most piano quintets composed after Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet (1842), it is written for piano and string quartet.
The String Quartet No. 6 in B-flat major, Op. 18, No. 6, was written between 1798 and 1800 by Ludwig van Beethoven and published in 1801, and dedicated to Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz.
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Cyclic form is a technique of musical construction, involving multiple sections or movements, in which a theme, melody, or thematic material occurs in more than one movement as a unifying device. Sometimes a theme may occur at the beginning and end ; other times a theme occurs in a different guise in every part.
The String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, by Ludwig van Beethoven, was written in 1825, given its public premiere on November 6 of that year by the Schuppanzigh Quartet and was dedicated to Count Nikolai Galitzin, as were Opp. 127 and 130. The number traditionally assigned to it is based on the order of its publication; it is actually the thirteenth quartet in order of composition.
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The six String Quartets, Op. 76, by Joseph Haydn were composed in 1797 or 1798 and dedicated to the Hungarian count Joseph Georg von Erdődy (1754–1824). They form the last complete set of string quartets that Haydn composed. At the time of the commission, Haydn was employed at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy II and was composing the oratorio The Creation as well as Princess Maria Hermenegild Esterházy's annual mass.
Nancy Dalberg was a Danish composer. Born into a wealthy family she studied under notable composers such as Johan Svendsen and Carl Nielsen, the later becoming a good friend and a significant figure in her life. Dalberg's musical output is modest. In addition to the orchestral works mentioned, she wrote around fifty songs, including three for voice and orchestra.
The String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13, was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1827. Written when he was 18 years old, it was, despite its official number, Mendelssohn's first mature string quartet. One of Mendelssohn's most passionate works, the A minor Quartet is one of the earliest and most significant examples of cyclic form in music.
The six string quartets Op. 20 by Joseph Haydn are among the works that earned Haydn the sobriquet "the father of the string quartet". The quartets are considered a milestone in the history of composition; in them, Haydn develops compositional techniques that were to define the medium for the next 200 years.
The Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60, completed by Johannes Brahms in 1875, is scored for piano, violin, viola and cello. It is sometimes called the Werther Quartet after Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. The premiere took place in Vienna on November 18, 1875, to an anxious public. Richard Wagner and his wife Cosima were in attendance.
The Piano Quartet in E♭ major, Op. 47, was composed by Robert Schumann in 1842 for piano, violin, viola and cello. Written during a productive period in which he produced several large-scale chamber music works, it has been described as the "creative double" of his Piano Quintet, finished weeks earlier. Though dedicated to the Russian cellist Mathieu Wielhorsky, it was written with Schumann's wife Clara in mind, who would be the pianist at the premiere on 8 December 1844 in Leipzig.
The String Quartets, Op. 50, were composed by Joseph Haydn in 1787. The set of six quartets was dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia. For this reason the set is commonly known as the Prussian Quartets. Haydn sold the set to the Viennese firm Artaria and, without Artaria's knowledge, to the English publisher William Forster. Forster published it as Haydn's Opus 44. Haydn's autograph manuscripts for Nos. 3 to 6 of the set were discovered in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982.
Count Nikolaus Zmeskall von Domanovecz was an official in the Hungarian Court Chancellery, living in Vienna. He was a musician and friend of Ludwig van Beethoven.
