String Quartet Part 1: The Development of a New Genre

Since the beginning of time, composers have found ways to use musical instruments to communicate, and as technology developed, so did those musical instruments. The Renaissance era saw the creation of the violin, viola, and cello. And because the sweet string sound captured the ear of musicians and audiences alike, the string quartet was created.

But first, what is a string quartet? It is a musical group consisting of two violins, a viola, and a cello. Each instrument has a specific color and tone that, when combined, results in some stunning music.

The First String Quartet

The string quartet as we know it today has gone through much development since the creation of the necessary instruments in the 1500s. During the Renaissance and Baroque eras, string instruments were usually accompanied by a harpsichord to fill in the harmonies and help support the bass line. It was almost unheard of at the time to not use a keyboard instrument when writing for various groups of string instruments.

The trio sonata, for example, was an ensemble consisting of two solo violins accompanied by a bass part (usually a cello and a harpsichord). Composers at the time were happy to write for this group of instruments. However, some wanted to shake things up a little by removing the keyboard instrument from the string ensemble.

Thus, the first known string quartet was composed in 1650 by the Catholic priest Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652). His quartet was a very early version of a four-part sonata (a composition for an instrumental soloist) written for a small string ensemble with no keyboard accompaniment. Called Sinfonia for strings, the piece was written for two violins, viola, and bass. Read more about it here.

Alessandro Scarlatti

In the last few years of his life, Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) further explored the genre of the string quartet. He composed a set of 6 works called Sonata à Quattro per due Violini, Violetta [viola], e Violoncello senza Cembalo (“Sonata for four instruments: two violins, viola, and cello without harpsichord”). Remember how up to this point the keyboard was an essential part of string ensembles? Well, Scarlatti replaced the harpsichord with a Baroque viola, which allowed for a completed harmonic sound between the four string instruments.

Here is the 4th of his quartet set:

Listen for the complex counterpoint between the voices and the complete change of mood between the movements. Scarlatti also gives each instrument virtuosic passages and thematic expression, something that was unique to the time – and important in the development of the string quartet.

Haydn: The Father of the String Quartet

In spite of Allegri and Scarlatti’s exploration of the string quartet, the genre was not securely established until Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) started exploring the possibilities of the four instruments.

Because the string quartet still wasn’t considered a real genre at the start of the Classical era, Haydn’s earliest quartets were created from circumstance. When the composer worked as a teacher and violinist in the 1750s, he was occasionally invited to the court of Baron Karl Joseph Weber von Fürnberg. Haydn often played violin in an impromptu musical group for the Baron consisting of himself, Fürnberg’s priest (a local cellist), and two other amateur string musicians. It was for this small ensemble that Haydn first wrote string quartets.

Haydn’s Compositions

Around this time, he composed 11 works for the genre, 9 of which were published as his Op. 1 and Op. 2. Each piece had five short movements following the pattern established by Baroque large ensemble music: fast movement, minuet and trio I, slow movement, minuet and trio II, and fast finale. Stylistically, these early quartets borrow from the Austrian divertimento, a lighthearted piece written specifically for a small ensemble to be played at a social function.

Op. 1 No. 1 in B flat major, also called “The Hunt”, opens with a lively motif reminiscent of fanfare-esque hunting horns. The second movement is a stately dance full of charming melodies, while the Adagio is incredibly lyrical and hymn-like. The fourth movement uses vigorous rhythms in a call-and-response game of thematic tag. The final movement is full of energy and light.

After taking a break to compose other music, Haydn returned to the string quartet several years later. His new job working at the Esterházy family court required him to write lots of string music (as some of the family played string instruments), so he was able to experiment. The string quartets from this time established a standard form of four movements with complex and close-knit thematic development between the four instruments. 

The Groundbreaking Work of Op. 20

Haydn’s Op. 20 is a set of six string quartets composed in 1772. These quartets were the most advanced of the time, and they inspired many composers (such as Mozart) to write music for the genre.

Prior to Op. 20, the first violin was the dominant voice in the ensemble. But if you listen to his Op. 20 No. 4 in D Major, you will hear each voice equally throughout the work. The string quartet became a conversation between the instruments instead of a violin solo.

The first movement opens with a drum-like motif that Haydn uses to pivot the music into different and exciting harmonies. The composer also wrote many false reprises – he returns to the opening theme many times only to keep going with thematic development instead of ending the movement. The second movement is a theme and variations, where the first variation is a duet between the second violin and viola, and the second variation is a cello solo. (This was extremely innovative for the time.) The third movement uses syncopation and accents to imitate the mood of a gypsy dance, and the fourth movement combines chromatic harmonies with showy melodies.

At this point in the Classical era, composers focused on writing music that was simple and clear, balanced and easy to listen to. But Haydn rejected these ideas in this set of string quartets. Instead, he pulled from Baroque counterpoint and used minor key signatures and syncopated rhythms to create texture and complexity. Op. 20 No. 4 combines Baroque counterpoint with Classical clarity and Romantic harmonies to help push the development of music forward.

The “Emperor” Quartet

Haydn’s last complete set of string quartets, Op. 76 (composed in 1797 or 1798), consists of six works that, according to historian and composer Charles Burney:

…are full of invention, fire, good taste, and new effects, and seem the production, not of a sublime genius who has written so much and so well already, but of one of highly-cultivated talents, who had expended none of his fire before.

Op. 73 No. 3, also known as the “Emperor” quartet, is particularly well known due to its second movement – a theme and variations on his original melody “Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser” (“God Save Emperor Francis”), the Austrian (and now German) national anthem. Apparently, Haydn was so moved by the English anthem “God Save the Queen” that he decided to write his own for Austria! Along with this lovely slow movement, the bouncing first movement and the cheerful-turned-gloomy minuet and trio combine with the suppressed energy of the final movement to create a masterpiece.

Each movement in Op. 76 No. 3 tells a story. This shows Haydn’s mastery over the string quartet; he exploits each instrument’s special tone and range to create a meaningful musical conversation. And because of this, composers took the ensemble seriously enough to continue writing for the group long after Haydn’s death. Next week’s blog post will look at the string quartets of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Shostakovich, and more all the way through the 21st century.