A wind quartet is an ensemble consisting of a mixture of

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

and

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and r ...

s, or music written for a combination of four such instruments. It is distinct therefore from the woodwind quartet (usually flute,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

, clarinet and bassoon), brass quartet (usually two

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

or baritone horn, and

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

), and quartets made up of a single instrument type, such as the

saxophone quartet A saxophone quartet is a musical ensemble composed of four saxophones, typically soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Different saxophone family members are employed to provide a larger range and a variety of tone colours. Other arrangeme ...

. According to Michael Tilmouth,Michael Tilmouth, "Quartet",''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001): 20:662. the repertory of quartets for wind instruments varies in instrumentation. In their divertimentos and cassations,

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

and his contemporaries tended to combine pairs of instruments – two flutes and two horns or two clarinets with two horns, for instance. Rossini's quartets for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and horn are mostly arrangements.

Franz Tausch Franz Tausch (26 December 1762 – 9 February 1817) was a German clarinetist, teacher and composer. He played in the Mannheim orchestra. One of his students was Heinrich Baermann. His compositions include two solo clarinet concerto A clar ...

, François René Gebauer, Nicholas Fleury, and Charles-Frederick Eler all composed works for the combination of two clarinets, horn and bassoon. There are 20th-century works for four mixed brass and woodwind instruments by Hans Eric Apostel (Quartet in Five Movements, for flute, clarinet, bassoon, and horn, Op. 14, 1947–49),

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

Carlos Chávez Carlos Antonio de Padua Chávez y Ramírez (13 June 1899 – 2 August 1978) was a Mexican composer, conductor, music theorist, educator, journalist, and founder and director of the Mexican Symphonic Orchestra. He was influenced by nativ ...

(''Soli I'', for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and trumpet, 1933), Carl Ehrenberg (Quartet for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon, Op. 40), and

Hugo Kauder Hugo Kauder (9 June 188822 July 1972) was an Austrian-Jewish composer, pedagogue, and music theorist. He defied the atonal trend of his generation with his uniquely harmonic, contrapuntal style. His legacy of over 300 works, many yet to be publish ...

(Quartet for oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wind Quartet Chamber music Types of musical groups 4