String quintet repertoire Last updated May 29, 2025 The string quintet normally comprises the four instruments of the standard string quartet (2 violins , viola , and cello ), plus one additional instrument. This additional instrument may be a viola, cello or double bass . Of these three different combinations, the string quintet with a second viola has the widest repertoire and may be referred to as the standard string quintet. The other two combinations have far fewer important works, though the combination with two cellos includes the string quintet by Schubert, which is widely considered the greatest of all string quintets.
Ordering in each section is by surname of composer. These lists should be complete for major composers and their string quintets. For secondary or minor composers, the lists are not exhaustive but those shown may be taken as representative examples. For recent or living composers, no attempt has been made at completeness.
String quintets with 2 violins, 2 violas and cello
Arnold Bax (1883-1953) String Quintet in G (1908) Lyrical Interlude (1922) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 1 in C major, G 391 (1801) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 2 in B flat major, G 392 (1801) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 3 in A major, G 393 (1801) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 4 in E flat major, G 394 (1801; lost) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 5 in G major, G 395 (1801) String Quintet Op. 60 No. 6 in F major, G 396 (1801) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 1 in C major, G 397 (1802) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 2 in E flat major, G 398 (1802) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 3 in F major, G 399 (1802) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 4 in B flat major, G 400 (1802) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 5 in D major, G 401 (1802) String Quintet Op. 62 No. 6 in E major, G 402 (1802) Also 12 further quintets arranged from piano quintets Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Frank Bridge (1879-1941) String Quintet in E minor, H 7 (1901) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Max Bruch (1838-1920) String Quintet No. 1 in A minor (1918) String Quintet No. 2 in E flat major (1918) Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) Franz Danzi (1763-1826) String Quintet in E flat major, op. 66 no. 1 (1823-4) String Quintet in F minor, op. 66 no. 2 (1823-4) String Quintet in A major, op. 66 no. 3 (1823-4) Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) François-Joseph Fétis (1784-1871) String Quintet no. 1 in A minor (1860) String Quintet no. 2 (1862) String Quintet no. 3 (1862) Niels Gade (1817-1890) String Quintet in E minor, op. 8 (1845) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Divertimento in G major, Hob.II:2 (c. 1753) Michael Haydn (1737-1806) Quintet in C major, MH 187 Quintet in B flat major, MH 412 Quintet in F major, MH 367 Quintet in F major, MH 411 Quintet in G major, MH 189 Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843-1900) String Quintet in C minor, op. 77 (1892) Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) String Quintet in G major, FS 5 (1888) George Onslow (1784-1853) Three string quintets Three further string quintets with two versions, either for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello or for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos Sir Hubert Parry (1848-1918) String Quintet in E flat major (1883-4) Anton Reicha (1770-1836) Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Overture in C minor, D. 8 (1811) Louis Spohr (1784-1859) Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) String Quintet no. 1 in F major, op. 85 (1903) String Quintet no. 2 in C minor, op. 86 (1903; unpublished) Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) String Quintet in C major, Op. 5 (1867) Sergey Taneyev (1856-1915) String Quintet no. 2 in C major, Op. 16 (1903-4) Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) String quintets with 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos
David Baker (1931-2016) Two Cello String Quintet (1987) Violoncello and string quartet (Commissioned by Janos Starker) Ludwig van Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata arranged for String Quintet (Simrock, 1832) Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) String Quintet Op. 10 No. 1 in A major, G 265 String Quintet Op. 10 No. 2 in E flat major, G 266 String Quintet Op. 10 No. 3 in C minor, G 267 String Quintet Op. 10 No. 4 in C major, G 268 String Quintet Op. 10 No. 5 in E flat major, G 269 String Quintet Op. 10 No. 6 in D major, G 270 String Quintet Op. 11 No. 1 in B flat major, G 271 String Quintet Op. 11 No. 2 in A major, G 272 String Quintet Op. 11 No. 3 in C major, G 273 String Quintet Op. 11 No. 4 in F minor, G 274 String Quintet Op. 11 No. 5 in E major, G 275 (This quintet includes the well-known "Boccherini's Minuet") String Quintet Op. 11 No. 6 in D major ("L'uccelliera" - "Bird Sanctuary"), G 276 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 1 in E flat major, G 277 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 2 in C major, G 278 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 3 in F major, G 279 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 4 in D minor, G 280 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 5 in A major, G 281 String Quintet Op. 13 No. 6 in E major, G 282 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 1 in C minor, G 283 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 2 in D major, G 284 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 3 in E flat major, G 285 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 4 in C major, G 286 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 5 in D minor, G 287 String Quintet Op. 18 No. 6 in E major, G 288 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 1 in E flat major, G 289 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 2 in B flat major, G 290 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 3 in F major, G 291 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 4 in G major, G 292 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 5 in D minor, G 293 String Quintet Op. 20 No. 6 in A minor, G 294 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 1 in D minor, G 295 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 2 in E flat major, G 296 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 3 in A major, G 297 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 4 in C major, G 298 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 5 in D major, G 299 String Quintet Op. 25 No. 6 in A minor, G 300 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 1 in A major, G 301 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 2 in G major, G 302 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 3 in E minor, G 303 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 4 in E flat major, G 304 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 5 in G minor, G 305 String Quintet Op. 27 No. 6 in B minor, G 306 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 1 in F major, G 307 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 2 in A major, G 308 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 3 in E flat major, G 309 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 4 in C major, G 310 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 5 in D minor, G 311 String Quintet Op. 28 No. 6 in B flat major, G 312 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 1 in D major, G 313 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 2 in C minor, G 314 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 3 in F major, G 315 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 4 in A major, G 316 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 5 in E flat major, G 317 String Quintet Op. 29 No. 6 in G minor, G 318 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 1 in B flat major, G 319 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 2 in A minor, G 320 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 3 in C major, G 321 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 4 in E flat major, G 322 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 5 in E minor, G 323 String Quintet Op. 30 No. 6 in C major ("Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid"), G 324 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 1 in E flat major, G 325 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 2 in G major, G 326 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 3 in B flat major, G 327 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 4 in C minor, G 328 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 5 in A major, G 329 String Quintet Op. 31 No. 6 in F major, G 330 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 1 in E flat major, G 331 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 2 in D major, G 332 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 3 in G major, G 333 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 4 in A minor, G 334 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 5 in G minor, G 335 String Quintet Op. 36 No. 6 in F major, G 336 String Quintet Op. 39 No. 1 in B flat major, G 337 String Quintet Op. 39 No. 2 in F major, G 338 String Quintet Op. 39 No. 3 in D major, G 339 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 1 in A major, G 340 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 2 in D major, G 341 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 3 in D major, G 342 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 4 in C major, G 343 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 5 in E minor, G 344 String Quintet Op. 40 No. 6 in B flat major, G 345 String Quintet Op. 41 No. 1 in E flat major, G 346 String Quintet Op. 41 No. 2 in F major, G 347 String Quintet Op. 42 No. 1 in F minor, G 348 String Quintet Op. 42 No. 2 in C major, G 349 String Quintet Op. 42 No. 3 in B minor, G 350 String Quintet Op. 42 No. 4 in G minor, G 351 String Quintet Op. 43 No. 1 in E flat major, G 352 String Quintet Op. 43 No. 2 in D major, G 353 String Quintet Op. 43 No. 3 in F major, G 354 String Quintet Op. 45 No. 1 in C minor, G 355 String Quintet Op. 45 No. 2 in A major, G 356 String Quintet Op. 45 No. 3 in B flat major, G 357 String Quintet Op. 45 No. 4 in C major, G 358 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 1 in B flat major, G 359 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 2 in D minor, G 360 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 3 in C major, G 361 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 4 in G minor, G 362 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 5 in F major, G 363 String Quintet Op. 46 No. 6 in E flat major, G 364 String Quintet Op. 49 No. 1 in D major, G 365 String Quintet Op. 49 No. 2 in B flat major, G 366 String Quintet Op. 49 No. 3 in E flat major, G 367 String Quintet Op. 49 No. 4 in D minor, G 368 String Quintet Op. 49 No. 5 in E flat major, G 369 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 1 in A major, G 370 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 2 in E flat major, G 371 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 3 in B flat major, G 372 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 4 in E major, G 373 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 5 in C major, G 374 String Quintet Op. 50 No. 6 in B flat major, G 375 String Quintet Op. 51 No. 1 in E flat major, G 376 String Quintet Op. 51 No. 2 in C minor, G 377 String Quintet in C major, G 378 String Quintet in E minor (from G 407), G 379 String Quintet in F major (from G 408), G 380 String Quintet in E flat major (from G 410), G 381 String Quintet in A minor (from G 412), G 382 String Quintet in D major (from G 411), G 383 String Quintet in C major (from G 409), G 384 String Quintet in D minor (from G 416), G 385 String Quintet in E minor (from G 417), G 386 String Quintet in B flat major (from G 414), G 387 String Quintet in A major (from G 413), G 388 String Quintet in E minor (from G 415), G 389 String Quintet in C major (from G 418), G 390 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 1 in C major, G 391 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 2 in B flat major, G 392 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 3 in A major, G 393 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 4 in E flat major (lost), G 394 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 5 in G major, G 395 String Quintet Op. 60 No. 6 in E major, G 396 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 1 in C major, G 397 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 2 in E flat major, G 398 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 3 in F major, G 399 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 4 in B flat major, G 400 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 5 in D major, G 401 String Quintet Op. 62 No. 6 in E major, G 402 String Quintet in E flat major (lost), G 406 Also: "String Quintet in C major" put together by Johann Lauterbach (1832-1918) from unrelated Boccherini string quintet movements Aleksandr Borodin (1833-87) String Quintet in F minor (1853-4: unfinished; completed by O. Evlakhov) Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842) String Quintet in E minor (1837) Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-99) Henry Eccles (1670-1742) Sonata in G minor for cello and strings (This is actually a sonata for viola da gamba and figured bass and not a string quintet. The version for cello and strings is a transcription. This sonata is also often played in a transcription for cello and piano.) Aleksandr Glazunov (1865-1936) String Quintet in A major, Op. 39 (1891-2) Karl Goldmark (1820-1915) String Quintet in A minor, Op. 9 (1862) Jay Greenberg (born 1991) August Klughardt (1847-1902) George Onslow (1784-1853) Twenty-two string quintets Three further string quintets with two versions, either for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos or for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello Anton Reicha (1770-1836) Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Peter Seabourne (born 1960) Adrien-François Servais (1807-66) Souvenir de Spa for cello and strings Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) String Quintet in E major, Op. 1 (1884) Sergey Taneyev (1856-1915) String Quintet no. 1 in G major, Op. 14 (1900–01) String quintets with two violins, viola, cello and double bass
Sources Grove Music Online Jeffery, Paul 'A Player's Guide to Chamber Music' (Robert Hale, 2017) This page is based on this
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