A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to 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 violinist ...

(two violins, a

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, and a

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet") or a second cello (a "cello quintet"), or occasionally a

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. Notable examples of

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a '' ...

"viola quintets", in four movement form include those of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Other examples were written by composers including

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

and Felix Mendelssohn. A famous "cello quintet" is

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's Quintet in C major.

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist exampl ...

's Quintet Op. 77 uses a double bass, and Mozart's famous '' Eine kleine Nachtmusik'' may be performed with this instrumentation (the double bass being optional). Alternative additions include clarinet or piano (see clarinet quintet, piano quintet); and other closely related

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

genres include the string quartet (much more common), the

string trio A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. From at least the 19th century on, the term "string trio" with otherwise unspecified instrumentation normally refers to the combination violin, viola and cel ...

, and the string sextet. A more unusual form of string quintet is the ''violin quintet'' composed of 3 violins, a viola and a cello (thus a string quartet with an additional violin). The term ''string quintet'' may refer to a group of five players that performs such works. The ensemble was standard in 17th century Italy and can be seen as early as 1607 in

Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is conside ...

's opera, ''

L'Orfeo ''L'Orfeo'' ( SV 318) (), sometimes called ''La favola d'Orfeo'' , is a late Renaissance/early Baroque ''favola in musica'', or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, ...

''.

List of viola quintets

Johann Georg Albrechtsberger Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (3 February 1736 – 7 March 1809) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist, and one of the teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was a friend of Haydn and Mozart. Biography Albrechtsberger was born at ...

– 19 String Quintets called "Sonatas" (1782-1803) * Franz Joseph Aumann – String Quintet "Divertimento" in C major (c.1760) *

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

– Quintet (1933) * Frank Bridge – Quintet in E minor (H15, 1901) *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

– Quintet, Op. 29, sometimes called the ''Storm'' Quintet; a Fugue in D major for viola quintet, Op. 137; an arrangement of his

Octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 com ...

for Viola Quintet, Op. 4 (the original Octet was later published as Op.103); an arrangement of his Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 3 for Viola Quintet, Op. 104 *

Luigi Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and '' galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major Eur ...

– twelve original Quintets, arrangements of all twelve of his Piano Quintets (Op.56 and Op.57) for Viola Quintet. *

– two Quintets, Op. 88 and Op. 111; the Clarinet Quintet Op. 115 may be performed with a viola substituting for the clarinet *

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard v ...

– Quintet in A minor * Anton Bruckner – String Quintet in F major (1879); Intermezzo in D minor (substitute for the scherzo) * Carson Cooman – Quintet (''Unquiet Parables'', 2009), Op 856 * Brett Dean – Epitaph for string quintet (2010) *

– two Quintets, No. 1 in A minor and No. 3 in E (the ''American'' Quintet) *

Victor Ewald Victor Vladímirovich Ewald (or Ėval′d) (russian: Ви́ктор Влади́мирович Э́вальд; 27 November 1860 – 16 April 1935), was a Russian engineer, architect, and composer of music, mainly for conical brass instruments. ...

– a Quintet Op. 4 in A major * Eduard Franck – two Quintets, Op. 15 in E minor and Op. 51 in C Major * Florian Leopold Gassmann – Op. 2 six String Quintets H 501–506 (1772) * Friedrich Gernsheim – Quintet Op. 9 in D * Roy Harris – Quintet (1940) *

Franz Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

– Hob.II:2 Divertimento in G major (c.1754) * Heinrich von Herzogenberg – Quintet in C minor, Op.77 (1892) * Franz Anton Hoffmeister Op. 2 six Quintets (c.1782) *

Klaus Huber Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saar ...

– ''Ecce homines'' (1998) * Heinrich Kaminski – Quintet in F minor (two versions, first 1916) * Franz Krommer – fifteen String Quintets * six String Quintets in F,G,B,A,E♭,C major *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He b ...

– Quintet (1927) * Felix Mendelssohn – two Quintets: No. 1 in A major, Op. 18 (1826, revised 1832) and No. 2 in B-flat major, Op.87 (1845) * Ernst Mielck – Quintet in F major (1897) *

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

– Quintet Op. 325 *

– six Quintets: K174, K406/516b, K515, K516, K593, K614 *

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

– Quintet in G major (1888) * George Onslow – five out of his thirty-four Quintets are with two violas; four are with double bass and the rest with two cellos (see below)George ONSLOW "The French Beethoven"
''george.onslow.online.fr'', accessed 7 October 2020 *

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 18 ...

– Quintet in E flat (1909) * George Perle –

Quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

(1958) *

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liec ...

– Quintet in A minor, Op. 82 (1874) (

Carus-Verlag Carus-Verlag is a German music publisher founded in 1972 and based in Stuttgart. Carus was founded by choral conductor Günter Graulich and his wife Waltraud with an emphasis on choral repertoire. The catalogue currently includes more than 26,0 ...

) * Ferdinand Ries – Seven Quintets, Op. 37 in C, Op. 68 in D minor, Op. 167 in A minor, Op. 171 in G, Op. 183 in E-flat, and two published without opus in A major and F minor (published in a series "Samtliche Streichquintette" edited by Jürgen Schmidt between 2003-5 for Accolade Musikverlag.) *

– "Quintet-Overture" for Quintet, D 8 *

Roger Sessions Roger Huntington Sessions (December 28, 1896March 16, 1985) was an American composer, teacher and musicologist. He had initially started his career writing in a neoclassical style, but gradually moved further towards more complex harmonies and ...

– Quintet (1958) * Robert Simpson – Quintet (1987) *

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig, was a German composer, violinist and conducting, conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten Sy ...

– seven Quintets *

Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was educated at the Un ...

– Two Quintets, Op. 85 & Op.86 * Johan Svendsen – Quintet in C, Op. 5 (1868) *

Sergei Taneyev Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Тане́ев, ; – ) was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author. Life Taneyev was born in Vladimir, Vladimir Governorate, Russi ...

– Quintet in C, Op. 16 *

Johann Baptist Wanhal Johann Baptist Wanhal (12 May 1739 – 20 August 1813) was a Czech classical music composer. He was born in Nechanice, Bohemia, and died in Vienna. His music was well respected by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Schubert. He was an instrument ...

– Six String Quintets (1774) *

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

– Quintet (the ''Phantasy'' Quintet – 1912) and ''Nocturne and Scherzo'' (1904-1906) * Felix Weingartner – Quintet, his Op. 40 *

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as '' Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays b ...

- Quintet in C, Op. 24 (1939) * John Woolrich – The Death of King Renaud (1991) * Alexander von Zemlinsky – Quintet (1894–1896): 2 movements are lost

List of cello quintets

– Quintet in G major (1908), whose second movement was rescored by the composer for Viola Quintet and published as the ''Lyrical Interlude'' (1923); * Wilhelm Berger – Quintet in E minor, Op. 75 (1911) *

– one hundred and ten Quintets. The third movement

Minuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accompa ...

of the Cello Quintet Op.11 No.5 is extremely well known. *

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

– Quintet in F minor *

Luigi Cherubini Luigi Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the grea ...

– Quintet in E minor (1837) * Felix Otto Dessoff – Quintet, Op. 10 * Friedrich Dotzauer – Quintet in D minor, Op. 134 (1835) * Felix Draeseke – Quintet in F, Op. 77 (1901) * Friedrich Gernsheim – Quintet Op. 89 in E *

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...

– Quintet in A, Op. 39 * Karl Goldmark – Quintet in A minor, Op. 9 (1862) * Theodore Gouvy – Quintet in G, op 55 is on IMSLP * August Klughardt – Quintet in G minor, Op. 62 (1902) * Frank Martin – Pavane couleur du temps (Colour of weather Pavane), 1920, 7', For quintet. *

– Quintet Op. 350 * George Onslow – twenty-five of his thirty-four string quintets are Cello Quintets; five are with two violas and four are with double bass *

Einojuhani Rautavaara Einojuhani Rautavaara (; 9 October 1928 – 27 July 2016) was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a great number of works spanning various styles. Th ...

– Quintet "Les Cieux Inconnues" (''Unknown Heavens'', 1997) *

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. His compositions range over operas, ballets, orchestral suit ...

– Quintet in G minor (1901, incomplete) * Wolfgang Rihm – ''Epilog'' (2013) * George Rochberg – Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Cellos (1982) *

– Cello Quintet, Op. post. 163, D 956 * Peter Seabourne – Quintet for Two Violins, Viola and Two Cellos (2012) * Robert Simpson – Quintet (1995) *

Ethel Smyth Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (; 22 April 18588 May 1944) was an English composer and a member of the women's suffrage movement. Her compositions include songs, works for piano, chamber music, orchestral works, choral works and operas. Smyth tended t ...

– Quintet in E major, Op. 1 *

– Quintet in G, Op. 14 * Ferdinand Thieriot – Streich-Quintett G-Dur, 1914; others with wind instruments * Carl Vine – String Quintet (2009)

String quintets for 3 violins, viola and cello

, String Quintet (1798) * Franz Clement, Introduction and Polonaise in E major (Polonaise für die Violine mit Begleitung von 2 Violinen, Viola und Violonzello) * Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Polonaise, Op.17 *

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

, Violin and String Quartet (1985) * Charles Martin Loeffler – one Violin Quintet (three violins, viola and cello) * Joseph Mayseder, Polonaise No.1, Op.10; Polonaise No.3, Op.12 *

Alessandro Rolla Alessandro Rolla (; 23 April 175714 September 1841) was an Italian viola and violin virtuoso, composer, conductor and teacher. His son, Antonio Rolla, was also a violin virtuoso and composer. His fame now rests mainly as "teacher of the great ...

, Divertimento for Violin and String Quartet, BI 429 *

, Rondo in A major for Violin and Strings, D 438 *

, Potpourri No.2 in B major (Potpourri on themes by Mozart for violin and string quartet (with bass ad libitum))

List of double bass quintets

* Leslie Bassett – Quintet (1957) *

– three Quintets. *

–

Op. 77 in G (1875) *

Brian Ferneyhough Brian John Peter Ferneyhough (; born 16 January 1943) is an English composer. Ferneyhough is typically considered the central figure of the New Complexity movement. Ferneyhough has taught composition at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg and ...

– ''Christus Resurgens'' (2017) * Alistair Hinton – String Quintet (1969–77) *

Vagn Holmboe Vagn Gylding Holmboe (, 20 December 1909 – 1 September 1996) was a Danish composer and teacher. Life Vagn Holmboe was born in Horsens, Jutland, into a merchant family of dedicated amateur musicians. Both parents played the piano. His fa ...

– Quintet, Op. 165/M.326 (1986) *

– Quintet Op. 316 *

- Serenade No. 13, K. 525, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" * George Onslow – four out of his thirty-four String Quintets are with double bass; five with two violas and the rest with two cellos * Robert Paterson – ''I See You'' (2015) (for string quintet with double bass and recording)

String quintets for other combinations

* Felix Draeseke – one Quintet in A for Two Violins, Viola,

Violotta A tenor violin (or tenor viola) is an instrument with a range between those of the cello and the viola. An earlier development of the evolution of the violin family of instruments, the instrument is not standard in the modern symphony orchestra. I ...

, and Cello (the ''Stelzner-Quintett''; 1897); Draeseke also composed one Cello Quintet- in F, Op. 77 (1901)

Works making use of a string quintet

Nigel Keay Nigel Keay (born 1955) is a New Zealand composer. He has been a freelance musician since 1983 working as a composer, violist, and violin teacher. Nigel Keay has held the following composer residencies: Mozart Fellowship, University of Otago 198 ...

– one Double Bass Quintet with Contralto, Tango Suite (2002)Nigel Keay - Tango Suite (2002)
''www.nigelkeay.com'', accessed 7 October 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:String Quintet Chamber music Types of musical groups Musical quintets