The String Quintet No. 3 in
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
,
K. 515 was 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
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 ...
and an extra
viola (two
violins, two
violas
; 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
cello).
The work was completed on April 19, 1787, less than a month before the completion of his stormy
G Minor Quintet, K. 516. This would not be the last time that a great pair of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
/
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.
Movements
The work is in standard four
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
form, though published with the middle movements in reverse order, the Minuet movement preceding the 'slow' movement:
*I.
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
in C major
*II.
Menuetto:
Allegretto in C major, with trio in F major
*III.
Andante in F major
*IV.
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
in C major
Mozart's final intentions on movement order are not entirely known, and both orders are common amongst chamber musicians.
The first movement is massive in scope. Indeed, it is the largest "sonata-allegro" movement before
Beethoven, usually taking about a quarter of an hour to perform.
Influence
This quintet inspired
Schubert to write his own
string quintet in the same key (his scoring involves two cellos rather than two violas as in Mozart's quintet). The opening theme of Schubert's work retained many of the characteristics of Mozart's opening theme, such as decorative
turn
Turn may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Dance and sports
* Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body
* Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool
* Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel
* Turn, ...
s, irregular phrase lengths, and rising
staccato
Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...
arpeggio
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
s (the latter appear only in Schubert's recapitulation).
[Rosen 2003]
The influence can also be found in Hummel's Bassoon Concerto in F. In the third movement, one can easily find the similarity in the same rondo theme.
Notes
References
*Berger, Melvin (2001). ''Guide to Chamber Music'', Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. .
*
Rosen, Charles (1997). ''The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven'', New York:
W. W. Norton & Co. .
*Rosen, Charles (2003). "Schubert and the example of Mozart", in Brian Newbould
d. ''Schubert the Progressive: History, Performance Practice, Analysis'', Ashgate.
External links
*
*
Performance of String Quintet No. 3 by the Musicians from Marlborofrom the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in
MP3 format
String quintets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Compositions in C major
1787 compositions
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