The String Quartet

Between 1800 and 1850 Franz Krommer, a contemporary of Mozart, Joseph Woelfl, a contemporary of Beethoven, but also the younger Louis Spohr and Friedrich Fesca worked. We can close the line of Beethoven’s contemporaries finally with the youngest of the company, Franz Schubert. Woelfls quartets are mainly pleasant, lilting and owe a lot to Mozart’s quartets. Krommer looked more for a narrative music, but does not go as far as Schubert in his last quartets. In his first quartets, we can hear what a refined violinist Spohr was. An elegant first violin part is central to most of his works from the outset, such as it is too in his very first quartet, opus 4, number 1.

Contemporaries Beethoven 1

Joseph Woelfl – String quartet in C, opus 10:1

1. Allegro moderato – 2. Andante – 3. Menuetto (Allegro) – 4. Allegro

Performers: Quatuor Mosaïques

CD: Paladino

Franz Krommer – String quartet in A, opus 103:3

1. Allegro moderato – 2. Andante con scherzo – 3. Minuetto (Allegretto) – 4. Finale

Performers: Marcolini Quartett

CD: Avi-Service

Louis Spohr – String quartet in C, opus 4:1

4. Finale. Allegro

Performers: New Budapest Quartet

CD: Marco Polo