String Quintet No. 4 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
The String Quintet No. 4 in G minor
, K.
516 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
. Like all of Mozart's string quintet
s, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet
and an extra viola
(two violin
s, two violas and cello
).
The work was completed on May 16, 1787, less than a month after the completion of his grand C Major Quintet, K. 515
. This would not be the last time that a great pair of C major
/G minor
works of the same form would be published in close proximity and assigned consecutive Köchel
numbers. The following year, the 40th (G minor)
and 41st (C major)
symphonies would be completed within a few weeks of each other.
The mood of the piece is dark and melancholic, typical of Mozart's G minor works.
:
The first movement is in sonata form
with both the first and second themes beginning in G minor. The movement does not resolve to the major key in the recapitulation and has a minor-key ending.
The minuet is placed second and is a minuet in name only as the turbulent G minor theme and heavy third-beat chords make this movement very undancelike. The central trio
is in a bright G major
.
The third movement in E-flat major is slow, melancholic and wistful, furthering the despair brought forth by the previous movements. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
said of this movement: "No one has ever known as well how to interpret so exquisitely in music the sense of resigned and inconsolable sorrow."
The start of the fourth movement is not the typical quick-tempo finale, but a slow cavatina
back in the home key of G minor. It is a dirge or lament that is even slower than the previous movement. The music wallows in this dark area for a few minutes before reaching an ominous pause. At this point, Mozart launches unexpectedly into the ebullient G major Allegro which creates a stark contrast between it and the movements that preceded it. Critics have often questioned how such an insouciant and carefree finale could be tacked on after three-plus movements of intense pathos.
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
, K.
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
516 was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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...
. Like all of Mozart's string quintet
String quintet
A string quintet is a musical composition for a standard string quartet supplemented by a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello , but occasionally a double bass. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who favoured addition of a viola, is considered a pioneer of the form...
s, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
and an extra viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
(two violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s, two violas and cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
).
The work was completed on May 16, 1787, less than a month after the completion of his grand C Major Quintet, K. 515
String Quintet No. 3 (Mozart)
The String Quintet No. 3 in C major, K. 515 is written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Like all of Mozart's string quintets, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola ....
. This would not be the last time that a great pair of C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
/G minor
G minor
G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major....
works of the same form would be published in close proximity and assigned consecutive Köchel
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
numbers. The following year, the 40th (G minor)
Symphony No. 40 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote....
and 41st (C major)
Symphony No. 41 (Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major, K. 551, on 10 August 1788. It was the last symphony that he composed.The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony...
symphonies would be completed within a few weeks of each other.
The mood of the piece is dark and melancholic, typical of Mozart's G minor works.
Movements
The work is in four movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
:
- I. Allegro
- II. 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...
: Allegretto - III. Adagio ma non troppo
- IV. Adagio - Allegro
The first movement is in sonata form
Sonata form
Sonata form is a large-scale musical structure used widely since the middle of the 18th century . While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement...
with both the first and second themes beginning in G minor. The movement does not resolve to the major key in the recapitulation and has a minor-key ending.
The minuet is placed second and is a minuet in name only as the turbulent G minor theme and heavy third-beat chords make this movement very undancelike. The central trio
Ternary form
Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
is in a bright G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
.
The third movement in E-flat major is slow, melancholic and wistful, furthering the despair brought forth by the previous movements. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
said of this movement: "No one has ever known as well how to interpret so exquisitely in music the sense of resigned and inconsolable sorrow."
The start of the fourth movement is not the typical quick-tempo finale, but a slow cavatina
Cavatina
Cavatina is a musical term, originally a short song of simple character, without a second strain or any repetition of the air...
back in the home key of G minor. It is a dirge or lament that is even slower than the previous movement. The music wallows in this dark area for a few minutes before reaching an ominous pause. At this point, Mozart launches unexpectedly into the ebullient G major Allegro which creates a stark contrast between it and the movements that preceded it. Critics have often questioned how such an insouciant and carefree finale could be tacked on after three-plus movements of intense pathos.
Media
External links
- BBC Discovering Music (browse for .ram file for this work)
- Performance of quintet by the Orion Quartet and Ida Kevafian 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 - http://intimatemusic.blogspot.com/2010/09/death-and-mozart.htmlAnalysis of the quintet based on the Kübler-Ross modelKübler-Ross modelThe Kübler-Ross model, commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, was first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book, On Death and Dying....
of grief and loss]