Thread: What is your favorite musical era for String Quartets?

I have been exploring String Quartets over various musical time periods and still have not settled on a time period I prefer.

I have also noticed that the differences are often more subtle than in other types of classical music. It also seems that typical time markers (rhythm, dissonance, tonality, melody, etc) do not follow the usual time periods. Early String Quartets can sometimes sound "modern" and later Quartets can sometime sound early.

I would be interested you see what time periods others enjoy and your thoughts on how String Quartets have changed over time (on their own and in relation to other types of classical music).

Originally Posted by Enjoying Life

I ... still have not settled on a time period I prefer.

Why settle? There are string quartets from Haydn to Ferneyhough. Why not just enjoy them all?

I think I enjoy them all

How would you like to do time period on string quartet then? I use to think about the era from Haydn to Beethoven's Grose Fugue. I enjoy this era where composer haven't got 'contaminated' by Beethoven's idea and fighting notes by only rely on melody and harmonization. Though outside Haydn's works, I have less references on this era, only the Boccherinis, a fragment of Krauss, Gyrowetz, and Pleyel then the Mozart's.

But recently I found many great SQs on this forum , mostly late Romantic and post 1900 stuff, so it is very hard to answer your question.

Beethoven's lifetime. After his death string quartets didn't follow his ideas, listening to early romantics can make impression like they wouldn't even hear his 14th and GF. Then was Brahms with his ultimate wanna-be Beethoven style but it's not what I would call continuation. So I don't listen to much of first and second wave romantic SQs.

From more modern times I like style that was developed between Faure and Szymanowski with Ravels and Debussys inside and some other dudes from first half of XXth century like Shostakovich and stuff.

While I enjoy Chamber Music of all times and styles, to do so would deprive ones self of much musical enjoyment. I do how ever have a special interest from say middle period Beethoven up to the early 20th. Century. For my part, I think that there is a great deal of Chamber Music in all genres waiting to be rediscovered.

I think that I did not post what I wanted to say. My thought was that not listening to Chamber Music composed in different eras would deprive one of much Musical enjoyment.

I enjoy them all, but if I had to choose I'd have to pick classical. It was a tough choice between classical and 20th century, but then I figure that there is so much 20th century chamber music that is better than its quartets... and I don't know if I think that's as true of classical music. Besides, I love Haydn string quartets. And Beethoven's are good too.

My favorite string quartets are those of Haydn.

My favourite quartets are probably those by Shostakovich and the later Beethoven ones. I'm fond of many others but I have no favourite era in particular.

It's not possible to like everything, without running the risk of becoming indiscriminate.

Although I've become way more specialised in my music taste, other friends have gone the other way.

I started off liking baroque and classical, and maybe some late romantic too. Now I'm mostly thrilled by the 20th century discoveries, neglected and barely recorded as a repertoire. The early and middle 20th century are my favourite periods for string quartet music. I still have a lot of Beethoven/Haydn and maybe one Mozart string quartet, but I don't find them as intensely engaging as the familiar classics anymore. After listening to them about 1000 times, it's nice to listen to newer repertoire. Listeners who haven't listened to Beethoven for at least 1000 cycles, probably still haven't derived sufficient pleasure from them and feel no need to move onto different repertoire. At least that was my excuse way back when I used to only listen to the classical era. I'm more adventurous in my string quartet repertoire now. I'll even listen to a non-string quartet

Much to my surprise I'll have to go with 20th century to the present as my favorite string quartets. I think with a large orchestra I run into what I've elsewhere called the "TV effect" in that many of us have been exposed to 20th century style music through TV action scenes. (This was truer in the 50's and 60's than today) So when I listen to Varese, or even Bartok sometimes, I just want to get up and "turn the TV off," however much I may be trying to enjoy whatever it is I'm supposed to get out of it.

Not so with string quartets. With C20 chamber music I can be more focused on the pure music and not have mental images of Captain Kirk throwing styrofoam rocks at a man in a lizard suit. I can finally experience the excitement of exploration and discovery in the newer forms.

That is not say I don't enjoy a great Haydn quartet now and then however, and almost everything in between Haydn and the present as well.

I like C20th string quartets the most, followed by the older stuff. I also like some of the more "modern" sounding quartets of bygone eras, like Beethoven's Grosse Fuge, Mozart's Dissonance Quartet (the opening could almost be by Bartok or Stravinsky) and Haydn's Emperor. Janacek's and Berg's would have to be my favourites of what I am familar with now, but I also want to branch out and listen to things by guys like Schoenberg, Xenakis and Schnittke. I'm still getting my head around Bartok's - the first three in particular sound like some of the most complex music written in this genre. Shostakovich & Ligeti, to name two, were great as well...

Originally Posted by Head_case

Now I'm mostly thrilled by the 20th century discoveries, neglected and barely recorded as a repertoire.

Head_case, what do you think the most neglected and barely recorded string quartet repertoire worth mentioned to us? I know you have put in the talk of Russian's composer in other thread but maybe some other more?

I maybe not getting the piece immediately but once we hit the 1000+ barrier at least I have a name to remember (and it's hard to found the post 1000 sq listener..glad I found SOME in this forum)

At one time I was most interested in the period of say Beethovens op 59 up to the early 20th century. But now like many "posters", I have expanded to mid to late 20th century. I will say that from Mozart and Haydn to Shostakovich and Bartok, there is stlll a great deal of music still to be discovered.

I don't know about a specific period, but there are definitely 3 composers whose string quartets I always return to - Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert.

Haydn is a composer that initially left me cold, but has steadily and relentlessly worked his way up to being in the top ranks of composers I enjoy. His string quartets are some of the finest examples of his output.

Beethoven probably stands the highest for me - I enjoy everything from his middle "heroic" period onwards. Were I to pick just one, I would have to say that his 15th is one of the most beautiful pieces of music out there.

Schubert with his 13th (Rosamunde) and 14th (Death and the Maiden) quartets rounds out my favorites. Death and the Maiden is powerful and, at times, downright bleak. I realize that he was poised more at the end of the classical period/beginning of what would be the Romantic period, but his works could evoke emotion as well, or better, as the most heart-on-your-sleeve Romanticists.