String Quartet Research Paper

The string quartet has been one of the predominant genres of chamber music since the year of 1759. The string quartet consists of four string instruments, usually with two violins, a viola and a cello which performed structured symphonies in the form of four movements. The first movement in Sonata form, Allegro, in the tonic key; the second movement is a slow movement, in a related key; the third movement is a Minuet and Trio, in the tonic key; and the fourth movement is often in Rondo form or Sonata rondo form, in the tonic key. Although the origins of the string quartet can be traced back to the Baroque trio sonata, it was not until the work of an Austrian composer, Joseph Haydn, of his sixty-eight composition that the development of the string quartet had finally come about and rose to the public interest during the 18th …show more content…
Other types of the quartet are the Piano Quartet, Wind quartets, Vocal quartet and the Baroque quartet. The first string quartet was formed and played for the Baron Carl von Joseph Edler von Fürnberg in the years of 1755-1757 at the country estate in Weinzierl, Vienna. It just so happened around the same time of the year when quartet music began to rise in popularity, the String Quartets, Op. 50 composed by Joseph Haydn in 1787 was dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia. He was an amateur cellist, that became interested in Haydn’s work. The quartet was also performed many times in the history, such as at the Viennese apartment of the Grand Duke Paul of Russia’s wife on the Christmas Day of 1781. Many scientific advancements also arose during that time such as the discovery of the law of conservation of mass, which lead to the beginning of modern chemistry by Antoine Lavoisier in 1789, and the development of the world’s first smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner in