The String Quartet in C minor, Op. 35, was begun by

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of a ...

in 1898 and the composer had fully scored all but part of the third and last movement before he died in a bicycle accident on 10 June 1899. He was engaged on writing the last movement on the very day of his fatal accident.Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed, 1954, Vol. II, p. 191, Chausson, Ernest (Amédée) Relying on the drafts left behind by Chausson,

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

completed the final movement at the request of the composer's family. The

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

was premiered on 27 January

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

, at the Société Nationale de Musique (SNM). The performers were Armand Parent, Lammers, Denoyers and Baretti. The work is believed to be influenced by the

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

and the first movement quotes his string quartet op. 10, while the second adopts the Tarnhelm theme from

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...

''. The three movements are: *''Grave - Modéré'' *''Très calme'' *''Gaiement et pas trop vite''

References

Compositions by Ernest Chausson Chausson Musical compositions completed by others 1899 compositions Compositions in C minor {{chamber-composition-stub