String Quartet No. 16 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The String Quartet No. 16 in E flat major, K. 428/421b, was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
. This is the third of the Haydn Quartets
, a set of six string quartets he wrote during his first few years in Vienna
and later dedicated to Joseph Haydn
.
It is in four movements, with the Minuet third:
The first movement is highly chromatic, with the chromaticized bridge theme in the exposition being one of several examples, the end of the exposition being another.
The slow movement "invokes ... the slow movement of Haydn's Op. 20 No. 1
. The ostentatious dissonances of its opening almost have an antique flavour, caused by the collision of semitonal ascents and descents, and this strongly suggests the opening subject of the first movement, so surprisingly isolated there." Other commentators hear it as pointing forward to Johannes Brahms
.
Throughout the third movement Mozart "makes use of a pedal point
in the bass, thus giving the music an entrancing rustic effect."
The last movement "can best be described as being an abridged rondo
form."
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
. This is the third of the Haydn Quartets
Haydn Quartets (Mozart)
The "Haydn" Quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are a set of six string quartets published in 1785 in Vienna, dedicated to the composer Joseph Haydn. They are considered to be the pinnacle of Classical string quartet writing, containing some of Mozart's most memorable melodic writing and refined...
, a set of six string quartets he wrote during his first few years in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and later dedicated to Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
.
It is in four movements, with the Minuet third:
- I. Allegro non troppo
- II. Andante con moto
- III. MenuettoMinuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
& TrioTrio (music)Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form... - IV. Allegro vivace
The first movement is highly chromatic, with the chromaticized bridge theme in the exposition being one of several examples, the end of the exposition being another.
The slow movement "invokes ... the slow movement of Haydn's Op. 20 No. 1
String Quartets, Op. 20 (Haydn)
The six string quartets opus 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...
. The ostentatious dissonances of its opening almost have an antique flavour, caused by the collision of semitonal ascents and descents, and this strongly suggests the opening subject of the first movement, so surprisingly isolated there." Other commentators hear it as pointing forward to Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
.
Throughout the third movement Mozart "makes use of a pedal point
Pedal point
In tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing...
in the bass, thus giving the music an entrancing rustic effect."
The last movement "can best be described as being an abridged rondo
Rondo
Rondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
form."
External links
- http://traffic.libsyn.com/gardnermuseum/mozart_k428.mp3Recording by the Borromeo String QuartetBorromeo String QuartetThe Borromeo String Quartet is an American string quartet, in residence at the New England Conservatory since 1992. They have performed throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia, at numerous festivals and in many distinguished chamber music series...
] from the Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in MP3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format