In classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six

string instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s, two

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 ...

s, and two

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 ...

Notable string sextets

Among the earliest works in this form are the nine string sextets Op. 23 by

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 ...

, written in 1776. Other notable string sextets include the String Sextets Op. 18 and 36 by Brahms, Dvořák's Op. 48, Tchaikovsky '' Souvenir de Florence'', Op. 70, Schoenberg's '' Verklärte Nacht'', Op. 4,

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in history of Hollywood, Hollywood history. He was a no ...

Op. 10,

Erwin Schulhoff Erwin Schulhoff ( cs, Ervín Šulhov; 8 June 189418 August 1942) was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the ...

's String Sextet of 1924, and

Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He performed his works and other 20th-century music as pianist and conductor. He composed more than ...

's String Sextet of 1989.

Less usual combinations

More unusual combinations for a string sextet: * three violins, viola and two cellos:

Ferdinand David Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

(1810–1873), op. 38,

Gaetano Brunetti Gaetano Brunetti or Cayetano Brunetti (1744 in Fano – 16 December 1798 near Madrid) was a prolific Italian born composer active in Spain under kings Charles III and IV. Though he was musically influential at court and, to a lesser extent, ...

(1744–1798), op. 1, Eugene Goossens (1893–1962), op. 37 * three violins, two violas and cello: Jan Brandts Buys (1868–1933), op. 40 * two violins, two violas, cello, double bass:

Ignaz Pleyel Ignace Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. Life Early years He was born in in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Ma ...

(1757–1831) B.271, and others * two violins, viola, two cellos, double bass: including works by Auguste Franchomme (1808–1884) and

Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński Ignacy Feliks Dobrzyński (15 February 1807 – 9 October 1867) was a Polish pianist and composer. He was the son of Ignacy Dobrzyński, the brother of Edward Dobrzyński, and the father of Bronisław Dobrzyński. Life Dobrzyński was born on ...

(1807–1867)(list of selected sextets for) 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos, double bass
''imslp.org'', accessed 7 October 2020

Selected list of string sextets

(1743–1805) String Sextets, Op. 23 (1776) *

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, ...

(1833–1887) String Sextet in D minor (2 movements) (1860/61) *

Hakon Børresen Axel Ejnar Hakon Børresen (2 June 1876, Copenhagen – 6 October 1954, Copenhagen) was one of the foremost Danish composers of the 20th century. Life Børresen was descended from a merchant family. As a child, he was given violin, cello ...

(1876–1954) Sextet in G major, Op. 5 (1901) *

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 ...

(1833–1897) ** String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18 (33') ** String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36 (33') *

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845-1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

(1879–1941) String Sextet (1906–1912) (27') *

Karl Davydov Karl Yulievich Davydov (russian: Карл Юльевич Давидов; ) was a Russian cellist of great renown during his time, and described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. H ...

(1838–1889) Sextet, Op. 35 (1880) dedicated to Leopold Auer *

(1807–67) Sextet in E-flat major, Op.39 (1845) (for 2 violins, viola, 2 cellos & bass) *

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator * Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher *Ernő B� ...

(1877–1960) String Sextet in B-flat major (1893, revised 1898) (27') *

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 ...

(1841–1904) String Sextet in A major, Op. 48, B. 80 (31') *

Iván Erőd Iván Erőd ( hu, Erőd Iván ; 2 January 1936 – 24 June 2019; sometimes spelled ''Eröd'') was a Hungarian-Austrian composer and pianist. Educated in Budapest, he emigrated to Austria in 1956, where he studied at the Vienna Music Academy. He ...

(1936–2019) ** Serenade for string sextet, Op. 45 (1983) ** 2nd String Sextet, Op. 68 (1996) *

Eduard Franck Eduard Franck (5 October 1817 – 1 December 1893) was a German composer, pianist and music pedagogue. Life Franck was born in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. He was the fourth child of a wealthy banker who exposed ...

(1817–1893) ** String Sextet No. 1 in E-flat, Op. 41 (1882) ** String Sextet No. 2 in D major, Op. 50 (1894) *

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Biography Gade was bo ...

(1871–1890) Sextet in E-flat major, Op. 44 (1865) * Louis Glass (1864–1936) Sextet in G major, Op. 15 (1893) *

Reinhold Glière Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (born Reinhold Ernest Glier, which was later converted for standardization purposes; russian: Рейнгольд Морицевич Глиэр; 23 June 1956), was a Russian Imperial and Soviet composer of German and ...

(1875–1956) ** Sextet No. 1 in C minor (1898) ** String Sextet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7 (1904) ** String Sextet No. 3 in C major, Op. 11 (1904) * Heinrich Hofmann (1842–1902) Sextet Op. 25 (1874) *

Joseph Holbrooke Joseph Charles Holbrooke (5 July 18785 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. Life Early years Joseph Holbrooke was born Joseph Charles Holbrook in Croydon, Surrey. His father, also named Joseph, was a music hall musi ...

(1878–1958) Sextet in D, Op. 43 (1924) *

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 ...

(1851–1931) String Sextet in B-flat major, Op. 92 (1927) *

Mauricio Kagel Mauricio Raúl Kagel (; 24 December 1931 – 18 September 2008) was an Argentine-German composer. Biography Kagel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family that had fled from Russia in the 1920s . He studied music, his ...

(1931–2008) String Sextet (1953, rev. 1957) * Hans von Koessler (1853–1926) Sextet in F minor (1902) *

(1897–1957) String Sextet in D major, Op. 10 (1917) (33') *

Arnold Krug Arnold Krug (16 October 1849 – 14 August 1904) was a German composer and music teacher. Biography Born in Hamburg, Krug began his music studies with piano lessons from his father, Diederich Krug, who was himself a pianist and composer. Later ...

(1849–1904) Sextet in D major, Op. 68 * Max Lewandowsky (1874–1906) Sextet, Op. 5 (1904) *

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 ...

(1890–1959) String Sextet, H. 224 Paris, 1932 (15-16') * Mihály Mosonyi (1815–1870) String Sextet in C minor (32') * Per August Ölander (1824–1886) String Sextet (1876?) *

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...

(1894–1976) String Sextet (1964) (18') *

Joachim Raff Joseph Joachim Raff (27 May 182224 or 25 June 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, pedagogue and pianist. Biography Raff was born in Lachen in Switzerland. His father, a teacher, had fled there from Württemberg in 1810 to escape forced recruit ...

(1822–1882) Sextet in G minor, Op. 178 (1872) *

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Leipzig University Church, as a professor a ...

(1873–1916) Sextet in F major, Op. 118 (1910) * Friedhelm Rentzsch (born 1955) String Sextet (1981) (15') *

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

(1844–1908) String Sextet in A major (30') * Paul Rosenbloom (born 1952) String Sextet (1978) (30') *

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein ( rus, Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, r=Anton Grigor'evič Rubinštejn; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the S ...

(1829–1894) Sextet in D major, Op. 97 *

Peter Schickele "Professor" Peter Schickele (; born July 17, 1935) is an American composer, musical educator, and parodist, best known for comedy albums featuring his music, but which he presents as being composed by the fictional P. D. Q. Bach. He also hosted ...

(born 1935) String Sextet (1990) (26') *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

(1874–1951) '' Verklärte Nacht'' (''Transfigured Night''), Op. 4 (1899) (29') *

(1894–1942) String Sextet (1924) (21') *

Salvatore Sciarrino Salvatore Sciarrino (born 4 April 1947) is an Italian composer of contemporary classical music. Described as "the best-known and most performed Italian composer" of the present day, his works include ''Quaderno di strada'' (2003) and ''La porta d ...

(born 1947) Sestetto (2003) (22') *

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 ...

(1784–1859) String Sextet in C major, Op. 140 (1848) (24') *

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and early Modernism (music), modern eras, he has been descr ...

(1864–1949) from the Opera '' Capriccio'', Op. 85 (1942) (10') *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer Music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose music would make a lasting impressi ...

(1840–1893) '' Souvenir de Florence'', Op. 70 (35') *

Graham Waterhouse Graham Waterhouse (born 2 November 1962) is an English composer and cellist who specializes in chamber music. He has composed a cello concerto, '' Three Pieces for Solo Cello'' and '' Variations for Cello Solo'' for his own instrument, and str ...

(born 1962) String Sextet op. 1 (1979–2013) * (1834–1911) Sextet in B minor, Op. 27 (1898) *

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 ...

(1876–1948) Sextet in C minor (1894-5) *

(1938–2020) String Sextet (1989)

Notable string sextets

Less usual combinations

Selected list of string sextets

See also

References

Further reading