April is the fourth month of the year. And so the Classics a Day team decided to make it quartet month. This April the challenge is to post classical works that require four musicians. String quartets are the most common grouping of four -- but there are others.
A piano trio has four players. And many 20th and 21st-Century quartets bring together unusual combinations of instruments. There's a lot to choose from!
Here are my posts for the fourth and final week of #ClassicsaDay for April's #ClassicalQuartet.
4/24/23 Joan Tower: In Memory (for string quartet)
Tower composed this quartet in 2002. It was written in memory of friend who died in the September 11th attack.4/25/23 Johann Baptist Vanhal: Quartet for oboe and strings in F major, Op. 7
Bohemian composer was also an organist, violinist, and cellist. But that didn't prevent him from writing music for other instruments. Like this chamber work for oboe and strings.4/26/23 Emil von Reznicek: String Quartet No. 1 in C minor
Reznicek was a friend and colleague of Richard Strauss (at least for a while). The first of his six numbered string quartet was written in 1882.4/27/23 Arthur Foote: Piano Quartet No. 1, Op. 23
Foote was a member of the influencial "Boston Six" group of American composers that included George Whitefield Chadwick, John Knowles Paine, Amy Beach, and Horatio Parker. He wrote primarily chamber music, like this 1890 piano quartet.4/28/23 Charles ives: String Quartet No. 1 "From the Salvation Army"
Ives wrote his first quartet while studying at Yale with Horatio Parker. Its title refers to a revival service that the music depicts.4/28/23 Joachim Raff: String Quartet No. 8 in C major, Op. 192, No. 3 "Suite in Canon Form"
Raff's final string quartet is significantly different than the previous seven. Rather than use the standard four-movement form, Raff opted for seven short dance movements. Further, each movement uses canonic development.Next month:
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