Your Top 9 String Quartets

[snyprrr]

Just moving this up for future perusal.

[vandermolen]

Bloch No 1
Vaughan Williams No 2
Shostakovich No 15
Sibelius Voces Intimae
Vasks No 4
Miaskovsky No 13
I like those I have heard by Shebalin too.

[Guido]

Beethoven op.131
Goldschmidt no.2
Ives no.2
Janacek no.2
Szymanowski no.1
Ades Arcadiana
Crawford-Seeger

These seven are definites... not so sure about the last two. Faure, Dvorak 13, Elgar, Carter, Dutilleux, Walton, Britten, Bartok, and a few of the Shostakovichs might also get a look in pending me getting better aquainted with them. Sadly it doesn't appear that any of the Piston quartets are currently available.

I used to love Bliss' string quartet no.2 just for the first 20 seconds of the slow movement - so rapt and mysterious.

[Lethevich]

I'll only list non-major ones, or it's too hard

Hartmann 2
Vaughan Williams 2
Schnittke 2
Britten 3
Faure
Elgar
Ligeti 1
Rihm 3
Tubin
Simpson 9

[ChamberNut]

I'll mention my current favorite nine that aren't Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert or Brahms.  0:)

Pretty much any of Shostakovich, but particularly #8, #10, #13 and #15.  I'll count these all as one. 
Prokofiev 1, *2
Taneyev 1
Grieg
Ravel
Bartok 2 & *4
Franck
Schumann 1 & *3
Mendelssohn 2

I'll know I've overlooked some, but I'm just going off the top of my head.


OOOOOh, very honorable mention to the kick ass Verdi string quartet!  0:)

[snyprrr]

See? This is why I like SQs. Even more than symphonies, an SQ poll like this seems to bring out the "searcher" in everyone. Most all (or all)of these posters show esquisite sensativity, choosing their picks like chisled diamonds. Everyone has highlighted closetet masterpieces. Thank God I have most all, or I would be in trouble.

Shostakovich No.15 almost seems to be on everyone's list. That is an astounding testament. That really strikes me.

[ChamberNut]

synprrr, perhaps you should have the moniker "ChamberNut".   I am not worthy [size=7.5pt](insert bowing emoticon).[/size]

[DavidRoss]

Nine, hmm.  Well Beethoven wrote 16 so just pick any nine of those and you've got my list.

I'm almost with you...drop op 18 and 74 and there are my nine. 

But wait!  Then there's no room for Rosamunde and Death & the Maiden!  Or Debussy!  Okay, drop op 59 to make room. 

[Herman]

Mozart 387
Mozart 590
Haydn 64 / 5
Haydn 76 / 2
Beethoven 131
Brahms 67
Dvorak 106
Faure
Debussy
Shostakovich 15

[istanbul]

Morton Feldman / String Quartet I (1979)

[Lethevich]

Morton Feldman / String Quartet I (1979)

I still have to listen to this one - I very much enjoy his Violin and String Quartet - perhaps they will be similar (their length seems to be).

[Bulldog]

Too difficult so I'll go with my 9 favorite composers of string quartets:

Beethoven
Bartok
Taneyev
Miaskovksy
Shostakovich
Dvorak
Ravel
Boris Tchaikovsky
Janacek

[istanbul]

i like to [violin and string quartet (1985)]; it is 2 hours
string quartet I (1979), 75 min.
the same mood.
thank you.
(excuse me for my english)

[Lethevich]

i like to [violin and string quartet (1985)]; it is 2 hours
string quartet I (1979), 75 min.
the same mood.
thank you.
(excuse me for my english)

Hmm, I thought the first quartet was longer - I guess it will be even easier to listen to at only (!) 75 minutes

Welcome to the forum!

[Guido]

Bartok 5 and Dutilleux for my remaining two though I dearly would want to add Ravel too...

[Fëanor]

...
Gloria Coates: 5th Quartet. Totally unique and otherworldly.
...
Philip Glass: 5th Quartet. An abundance of great themes, especially in the conclusion.

... another odd list, and of course a ton of omitted favorites!

Coates' No. 5 -- brutal, especially the 2nd movement 

Glass' No. 5 -- boring, like virtually all his stuff.

[Lilas Pastia]

Another silly poll we can't resist 

Haydn Op. 76#2 is probably the most perfect SQ ever written. It has everything in perfect balance
Ravel, G Major. The second contender as the most formally perfect ever written. Ravel is more sensuous and delicate, Haydn more infectious and intriguing.
Dvorak Op. 96. Op. 105 is close behind.
Mozart: K. 421. Other worthies: K. 387 and 428.
Schubert: D.814
Beethoven: Op. 131 and 132
Shostakovich: 8 and 15

There are many 20th Century composers who wrote great string quartets, but I tend to view their efforts as a group instead of individual efforts: Villa-Lobos, Bartok, Schaffer, Jones, Rosenberg, Milhaud. There are many others, many of which I yet have to discover.

[bwv 1080]

Carter 3
Beethoven op 130
Mozart K428
Schumann Am
Reger Eb
Schoenberg 2
Ligeti 2
Schnittke 3
Wolpe

[snyprrr]

I LOOOOVE this thread!!! Everyone is really digging!

Who is this "David Jones" character???

[greg]

Impossible to decide in one sitting...


Schoenberg 2
Shostakovich 3, 8, 13, 15
Gorecki 2
Bartok 4, 6
Crumb Black Angels

a happy family of musical works.