Quite possibly my favorite genre of classical music.
Lists of no more than ten, please, and ranked. Note that the final results will be weighted (so as to penalize works only supported by a few enthusiastic users).
Edit: Grosse Fuge is a separate entry unless I can be convinced otherwise.
1 - Beethoven Op 131
2 - Beethoven Op 132
3 - Beethoven Op 135
4 - Beethoven Op 130 (w/ revised ending)
5 - Beethoven Op 127
6 - Haydn Op 76/3
7 - Haydn Op 33/2
8 - Bartok Sz 91
9 - Shostakovich Op 117
10 - Schulhoff String Quartet No 1
I was going to mention one by composer, but I thought Bartók deserves two places:
1) Schubert No. 15, D. 887
2) Beethoven No. 15, op. 132
3) Bartók 4
4) Bartók 5
5) Janácek 2 Intimate Letters
6) Dvorák 13
7) Brahms 3
8) Casella Concerto for string quartet
9) Rubbra 2
10) Lutoslawski
1. Schubert No.13 A minor D.804
2. Beethoven No.16 F major op.135
3. Haydn String Quartet G major op.77/1
4. Beethoven No.13 B Flat op.130 (with revised last movement)
5. Schoenberg No.2 op.10
6. Schubert No.15 G major
7. Dvorak No.12 F major "American"
8. Shostakovich No.3 F major, Op. 73
9. Ravel
10. Ives No.1
1 - Beethoven Op. 130 (either version)
2 - Janáček Intimate Letters
3 - Beethoven Op. 131
4 - Beethoven Op. 132
5 - Schubert D887
6 - Bartók No. 3
7 - Beethoven Op. 74
8 - Beethoven Op. 127
9 - Beethoven Op. 135
10 - Holliger No. 1
Beethoven 131
Ferneyhough 6
Schoenberg 4
Babbitt 4
Bartok 3
Mozart 428
Maderna quartet " in due tempi"
Nono, Fragmente stille an Diotima
Finnissy 3
Carter 4
I just saw that he wants them ranked, I'm not a ranker.
This was stressful...would've been a lot easier if it was top 15! In (some sort of) order:
Debussy
Dvorak 13
Grieg 1
Shostakovich 8
Ravel
Ginastera 1
Arensky 2
Smetana 1
Borodin 1
Hindemith 3
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on October 09, 2017, 07:21:44 PM
I was going to mention one by composer, but I thought Bartók deserves two places:
1) Schubert No. 15, D. 887
2) Beethoven No. 15, op. 132
3) Bartók 4
4) Bartók 5
5) Janácek 2 Intimate Letters
6) Dvorák 13
7) Brahms 3
8) Casella Concerto for string quartet
9) Rubbra 2
10) Lutoslawski
Great list with which could've very well been my own. I feel especially bad for excluding the Beethoven and Schubert 15ths from my list :-[ I need to check out the Casella and Lutosławski ones.
1. Bartók 4
2. Beethoven - Grosse Fuge
3. Reich - Different Trains
4. Crumb - Black Angels
5. Webern - Five Movements, op. 5
6. Rochberg 3
7. Schnittke 2
8. Haas, GF 7
9. Crawford Seeger (1931)
10. Lachenmann - Gran Torso
Beethoven Op. 131
Schubert D 887
Samuel Barber Op 11
Mozart no 19 K465 (Dissonnant)
Debussy
Janacek no 2 Intimate letters
Mendelssohn Op 13
Brahms A minor Op 51
Haydn D minor no 61 "the fifth" Op 76 no 2
Ravel
1. Beethoven Op. 127
2. Beethoven Op. 59 No. 3
3. Dvorak No. 13 (Op. 106)
4. Beethoven Op. 95
5. Beethoven Op. 18 No. 6
6. Ravel
7. Haydn Op. 76 No. 4 "Sunrise"
8. Arensky No. 2 with two cellos
9. Beethoven Op. 59 No. 1
10. Janacek No. 1
Apologies to Debussy, Smetana, Shostakovich, Mozart, Borodin, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Peteris Vasks, all of whom I would have loved to include.
1. Beethoven Op. 59/1
2. Beethoven Op. 59/3
3. Bartok #4
4. DSCH #9
5. Carter #1
6. Lutoslawski
7. Mozart K. 421
8. DSCH #15
9. Beethoven Op. 132
10. Ives #2
I only ranked them because I had to - tomorrow's ranking may be different!
Carter 3
Bartok 4
Schnittke 3
Beethoven op 130
Schumann Am
Ferneyhough 6
Mozart K428
Wolpe
Shostokovich 8
Schoenberg 3
Bartók 6
Bartók 5
Bartók 4
Bartók 3
Bartók 2
Bartók 1
Ligeti 2
Ligeti 1
Ravel
Fauré
In no particular order
Beethoven Op 130
Beethoven Op 132
Beethoven Op 131
Mozart No 23 K590
Mozart No 18 K464
Bartok String Quartet No 4
Honegger String Quartet No 2
Janacek String Quartet Intimate Letters
Shostakovich String Quartet No X (can't remember which I like best)
Brahms String Quartet No 3
A shame Schubert got squeezed out, and I would have put Beethoven's Op 127, except I couldn't imagine being without the German Dance in Op 130
There are too many to think of at the moment although tentatively I'll mention Ferneyhough's 3rd, 5th and 6th numbered quartets, the sonatas for string quartet and Dum Transisset, Lachenmann's Gran Torso, some Czernowin and Fuentes as well but I am unable yet to decide what I like the most.
I'll listen to some more and then get back to this thread..............................
Quote from: SymphonicAddict on October 09, 2017, 07:21:44 PM
8) A;fredp Casella ~ Concerto for string quartet, op.40.
A
very fine piece. Happy to see it getting both love and a bit of promotion!
There is a very exciting-satisfying string orchestra arrangement / version
Concerto per quartetto d'archi op.40b (1923/1924) by Erwin Stein, 1927
Stein's String Orchestra arrangement:
1st Movement.
https://www.youtube.com/v/dHGCEY9BAI0
2nd - 4th movements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRqgMZECLZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz6YT4g7DFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQhR4TNt_Ts
The following bewildering list must suffice:
1. Schubert: No. 15, D. 887
2. Beethoven: No. 10, "Harp"
3. Smetana: No. 1
4. Beethoven: No. 15
5. Janáček: No. 2, "Intimate Letters"
6. Mendelssohn: No. 6
7. Schumann: No. 2
8. Bartok: No. 5
9. Dvořák: No. 9
10. Glass: No. 3, "Mishima"
Quote from: aesthetic on October 11, 2017, 08:19:16 AM
9. Dvořák: No. 9
Great choice - very underrated piece. The slow movement is particularly moving.
Quote from: Monsieur Croche on October 10, 2017, 08:13:34 PM
A very fine piece. Happy to see it getting both love and a bit of promotion!
There is a very exciting-satisfying string orchestra arrangement / version
Concerto per quartetto d'archi op.40b (1923/1924) by Erwin Stein, 1927
Stein's String Orchestra arrangement:
1st Movement.
https://www.youtube.com/v/dHGCEY9BAI0
2nd - 4th movements:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRqgMZECLZI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz6YT4g7DFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQhR4TNt_Ts
I have both versions, and yes, I completely agree. I couldn't leave it out. It made a great impression on me.
In order I will probably say
Ferneyhough 6
Ferneyhough 'Dum Transisset'
Ferneyhough 3
Turgut Eçertin 1
Czernowin 'String Quartet'
Nishimura 2
Cassidy 2
Coates 7
Manoury 'Stringendo'
Ligeti 2
If I had more than 10 I would have fit in some Hosokawa, Schumann, Dillon, more Ferneyhough (obviously), Carter, Bartok, Mendelssohn, Xenakis, Feldman, Ginastera, Mozart, Johnston and Beethoven........but alas, I was only allowed to mention my top 10 ranked in order.
In no particular order:
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 6 in G major
Ravel: String Quartet
Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters"
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 2
Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2
Berg: Lyric Suite
Kurtág: Officium breve in memoriam Andreæ
Vasks: String Quartet No. 2
Langgaard: Rosengaardsspil (Rose Garden Play)
Edit: I made two alterations to my list. The first, I exchanged Kurtág for Britten. I'm not really all that impressed with Britten's SQs nowadays. The second, I exchanged Langgaard for Silvestrov. Now, I'm quite pleased with my list. 8)
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 12, 2017, 07:20:57 PM
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 6 in G major
Interesting choice - will have to revisit this one. I'm not as familiar with the lesser-played Shostakovich quartets as I should be.
Quote from: kyjo on October 12, 2017, 07:38:52 PM
Interesting choice - will have to revisit this one. I'm not as familiar with the lesser-played Shostakovich quartets as I should be.
As I was doing a bit of a Shostakovich SQ marathon a month ago --- the SQ6 really stood out to me, but, let me be clear, the man didn't compose a
bad SQ IMHO.
Janáček No. 2 Intimate Letters
Ravel
Beethoven Op. 131
Schubert No. 15 in G major, D. 887
Bartók No. 4
Dutilleux Ainsi la nuit
Kurtág: Officium breve in memoriam Andreæ Szervánszky, Op. 28
Shostakovich No. 15
Britten No. 2
Haydn String Quartet No. 61 in D minor 'Quinten', Op. 76/II
Ranked from top to bottom...
1. Beethoven Quartet No. 14 in C# minor Op. 131
2. Mozart Quartet K465 in C major
3. Schoenberg String Quartet No. 4
4. Haydn String Quartet in B minor Op. 33/1
5. Debussy String Quartet
6. Webern Five Movements Op. 5
7. Takemitsu Landscape
8. Carter String Quartet No. 2
9. Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major Op. 130 (with original finale)
10. Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 in F# minor Op. 10
My argument for combining Grosse Fuge with the rest of Op. 130 is that it was composed as a single work, to be performed together in one sitting, and it is integrated motivically with the rest of the quartet.
All ten of mine are by DSCH. I have a hard time individuating them, as I initially bought them as two box sets (Emerson, Fitzwilliam) and have listened to them exclusively on my computer or over a wireless speaker. I have no physical contact with the medium that brings me my music any longer and, that being the case, I think of them as a single, extremely large work, the entirety of which I love and can listen to for days on end. So I'm going to pick ten not quite at random, but declare a ten-way tie for first place, which would give each work 5.5 points if my math is correct.
15 definitely makes the list, as do 4, 5, 6, and 8. I also cannot live without 3, nor "Two Movements for a String Quartet." And 11, 12, and 13. I love the rest, but ten's the limit. I also like Beethoven's and Schubert's SQs, and Bartok's, but I like a lot of their other music, and I do not like anything by Shostakovich as much as I like his string quartets. These are definitely my favorite string quartets.
Quote from: Mahlerian on October 15, 2017, 07:31:01 AM
Ranked from top to bottom...
1. Beethoven Quartet No. 14 in C# minor Op. 131
2. Mozart Quartet K465 in C major
3. Schoenberg String Quartet No. 4
4. Haydn String Quartet in B minor Op. 33/1
5. Debussy String Quartet
6. Webern Five Movements Op. 5
7. Takemitsu Landscape
8. Carter String Quartet No. 2
9. Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major Op. 130 (with original finale)
10. Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 in F# minor Op. 10
My argument for combining Grosse Fuge with the rest of Op. 130 is that it was composed as a single work, to be performed together in one sitting, and it is integrated motivically with the rest of the quartet.
Great list. Could have easily added the Schoenberg SQ4, the Webern, or the Takemitsu.
Don't listen to that many SQs but here goes (not in order):
Bloch No.1: (an epic work)
Vaughan Williams No.2 'For Jean on her Birthday'
Miaskovsky: No.13
Shostakovich No.15
Debussy
Ravel
Sibelius
Borodin (the famous one ::))
Vaughan Williams: No.1
Alf Hurum.
1. Szymanowski 2
2. Weinberg 6
3. Hindemith 5
4. Toch 11
5. Bartok 3
6. Maxwell Davies Naxos quartet 7
7. Krauze 2
8. Dean 2
9. Kagel 3
10. Schafer 7
1. Haydn: Quartet in F minor, Op. 20, No. 5
2. Haydn: Quartet in D minor, Op. 76, No. 2
3. Schubert: Quartet No. 15 in G major, D. 887
4. Janacek: Quartet No. 1, Kreutzer Sonata
5. Dvorak: Quartet in F major, Op. 96, American
6. Schubert: Quartet No. 14 in D minor, Death and the Maiden
7. Reich: Different Trains
8. Ives: Quartet No. 2
9. Gorecki: Quasi una Fantasia: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 6
10. Britten: Quartet No. 3
My 10 current favourites. The ranking order is a bit arbitrary - these things change.
1. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major Op. 130 (I agree - with original finale, Op. 133)
2. Kurtág: 6 Moments musicaux, Op. 44
3. Britten: String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 36
4. Bartók: String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91
5. Haydn: String Quartet No. 30, Opus 33 No. 2 in E-flat major, "The Joke", Hob. III:38
6. Walton: String Quartet (No. 2) in A minor
7. Webern: Five Movements for String Quartet, Op. 5
8. Hindemith: String Quartet No. 4, Op. 22
9. Berg: Lyric Suite
10. Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2 in F# minor, Op. 10
---
Top Ten.
1. Bartók: String Quartet #4, Sz. 91 - 54.4
2. Beethoven: String Quartet #14 in C-sharp minor, op. 131 - 46.3
3. Schubert: String Quartet #15 in G, D. 887 - 44.8
4. Janáček: String Quartet #2 "Intimate Letters" - 38.5
5. Beethoven: String Quartet #13 in B-flat, op. 130 - 34.7
6. Beethoven: String Quartet #15 in A minor, op. 132 - 31.9
7. Ravel: String Quartet in F - 30.6
8. Bartók: String Quartet #3, Sz. 85 - 23.6
9. Debussy: String Quartet in G minor, L 85 - 21.3
10. Dvořák: String Quartet #13 in G, op. 106 - 16.8
Okay, time to update my list. In no particular order, other than the Dvorak and Schubert which are undoubtedly at the top for me:
Dvorak no. 13
Schubert no. 15
Prokofiev no. 2
Nielsen no. 1
Britten no. 2
Mendelssohn no. 2
Beethoven no. 15
Kabalevsky no. 1
Bruch no. 2
Grieg
Obviously, it was very difficult for me to leave out Ravel, Hindemith, Janacek, Smetana, RVW, Borodin, Ginastera, Stenhammar, Sibelius, etc etc...
For me it is:
- Mozart K 421, 464, 465, 499
- Beethoven: op.59,1 + 2
op. 74
op. 127 - 135
- Schubert: d-minor (Death of a Maiden)+ G
- Mendelssohn: in a- and f-minor (I am very astonished that his last in f- has been mentioned only once - For me the best quartet of the Romantic era!! I love it so much that I even orchestrated it )
- Dvorak: op. 96 and 106
I wanted to go with 15 as this is my favorite chamber form:
Janacek 2
Beethoven 7
Dvorak 13
Ravel
Mendelssohn 6
Schnittke 2
Stenhammar 5
Honegger 2
Dohnányi 3
Schubert 13
Bartók 5
Walton 2
Shostakovich 15
Ginastera 2
Mathias 2
I should have included the lyrical and approachable one by Klaus Egge.
(//)
Quote from: Mirror Image on October 12, 2017, 07:20:57 PM
In no particular order:
Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 6 in G major
Ravel: String Quartet
Janáček: String Quartet No. 2, "Intimate Letters"
Schnittke: String Quartet No. 2
Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet
Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 2
Berg: Lyric Suite
Kurtág: Officium breve in memoriam Andreæ
Vasks: String Quartet No. 2
Langgaard: Rosengaardsspil (Rose Garden Play)
Looking back on this list and I say that I'm rather content with it, although I might give a special nod to Schulhoff's two SQs as these were both works I discovered since making this list that have impressed me.
Quote from: ComposerOfAvantGarde on October 12, 2017, 02:01:46 AM
In order I will probably say
Ferneyhough 6
Ferneyhough 'Dum Transisset'
Ferneyhough 3
Turgut Eçertin 1
Czernowin 'String Quartet'
Nishimura 2
Cassidy 2
Coates 7
Manoury 'Stringendo'
Ligeti 2
If I had more than 10 I would have fit in some Hosokawa, Schumann, Dillon, more Ferneyhough (obviously), Carter, Bartok, Mendelssohn, Xenakis, Feldman, Ginastera, Mozart, Johnston and Beethoven........but alas, I was only allowed to mention my top 10 ranked in order.
Just discovered Turgut Eçertin thanks to this post.
I'm guessing the actual poll is long over, so I'm posting an unordered list and as usual trying to keep it to one selection per composer.
Webern Op. 28
Haydn Op. 54 No. 1
Beethoven No. 13 (original version)
Schoenberg No. 4
Crawford Seeger
Ravel
Nancarrow No. 1
Carter No. 2
Bartók 4
Zappa "None of the Above"
Really, it winds up being the last ten quartets Ilistened to ....
One or two by Mozart, one or two by Haydn, one or two by Schubert, one each by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Dvorak, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. ;)