The six string quartets,
K. 168–173, were composed by
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 ...
in late 1773 in
Vienna
en, Viennese
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. These are popularly known as the Viennese Quartets. Mozart may have hoped to have them published at the time, but they were only published posthumously by
Johann André
Johann André (28 March 1741 – 18 June 1799) was a German musician, composer and music publisher of the Classical period. He was born and died in Offenbach am Main.
In 1774, as the patriarch of a Huguenot family, André founded one of the firs ...
in 1801 as Mozart's Op. 94.
[''Chamber Music: An Essential History'']
by Mark A. Radice, pp. 44–5
These quartets represent a considerable advance on the
Milanese Quartets from less than a year before. Each contains four movements, including minuets and trios. Mozart had been exposed to recently published quartets by
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 ...
(Opp.
9 and
17) and was incorporating many of their elements.
[Heartz, Daniel, ''Haydn, Mozart, and the Viennese School, 1740–1780''. W.W. Norton & Company (), p. 564-567 (1995).]
The Six Viennese Quartets
Quartet No. 8 in F major, K. 168
#''Allegro''
#''Andante''
#''Menuetto''
#''Allegro''
The slow movement in
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...
is a triple-meter canon on the familiar theme also used in the finale of Haydn's
Op. 20 No. 5 quartet in the same key, and that Mozart would much later use in the ''Kyrie'' from his
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
. The finale is a fugue which is also similar to one of the finales of Op. 20, this time the A major quartet (No. 6).
[
]
Quartet No. 9 in A major, K. 169
#''Molto allegro''
#''Andante''
#''Menuetto''
#''Rondeau (allegro)''
Quartet No. 10 in C major, K. 170
#''Andante''
#''Menuetto''
#''Un poco adagio''
#''Rondo – Allegro''
The opening movement is a theme and variations
Variation or Variations may refer to:
Science and mathematics
* Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon
* Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...
with a theme that resembles the variation theme used in Haydn's Quartet Op. 9, No. 5 in B flat. The second phrase of the slow movement contains the opening theme of Haydn's Op. 9 No. 4 in D minor.[
]
Quartet No. 11 in E flat major, K. 171
#''Adagio – Allegro – Adagio''
#''Menuetto''
#''Andante''
#''Allegro assai''
Quartet No. 12 in B flat major, K. 172
#''Allegro spiritoso''
#''Adagio''
#''Menuetto''
#''Allegro assai''
Quartet No. 13 in D minor, K. 173
#''Allegro moderato''
#''Andante Grazioso''
#''Menuetto''
#''Allegro moderato''
The beginning of the minuet is similar to, and based on, the minuet from Haydn's Op. 9 No. 4 in D minor.[ The finale is a fugue whose subject begins with a descending ]chromatic fourth
In music theory, a chromatic fourth, or ''passus duriusculus'',Monelle, Raymond (2000). ''The Sense of Music: Semiotic Essays'', p.73. . is a melody or melodic fragment spanning a perfect fourth with all or almost all chromatic intervals fill ...
.[
]
Notes
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String quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1773 compositions
{{chamber-composition-stub