String Quartet

From £1,000

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. The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music.

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.

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.

A composition for four players of stringed instruments may be in any form, but if it is simply a String Quartet (with or without a subtitle) it is usually in four movements, with a large-scale structure similar to that of a symphony. The outer movements are typically fast, the inner movements in classical quartet form are a slow movement and a dance movement of some sort (e.g., minuet, scherzo, furiant), in either order.

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.