The Muir String Quartet - Essay Example

Lucia Lin started playing at a young age which the Chicago Symphony orchestra. This is one of the most famous American orchestras. The violist, Steven Ansell plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Michael. Michael Reynalds started with the Muir Quartet, 33 years of playing with the same group.

Mendelssohn's Quartet in A minor, Op 13 is one of 6 quartets that he wrote in his lifetime. Mendelssohn lived from 1809 to 1847. This particular quartet was written in 1827. It was written in the typical late classical style. The colors of the piece are romantic. The quartet does not end with a finale but with a question mark. The textures are like a quartet. He wrote this one the year Beethoven died. He was only 18 years old There is a classical style with 4 movements. The tempo starts with an adagio and goes from an allegro to an andante and finishes with an adagio. Within the four movements, there are many variations. The first movement starts slowly and the last ends slowly which is with a romantic flair. He is ending on a question mark. Beethoven's influence is highly heard.

The Dvorak Double Bass Quintet added a Bass instrument to the quartet. "This is one of Dvorak's earlier and unknown pieces" as spoken by the bass player when he explained more about the piece. We never learn his name. The cello becomes freer as he is no longer obliged to accompany the other instruments. He becomes a soloist. There are times the cellist plays with the first violinist as a duet in the first movement.


This is interesting for a quintet, the viola, and the bass starts with a 5-note theme that is repeated throughout the whole first movement, either in the 5-note theme or harmony or variations of rhythm.

Antoin Dvorak wrote this piece later in his career in 1876. It is more in the classical quartet style of 4 movements than Mendelssohn but the orchestration is strange. There is a great deal of repetition and the texture is choppy. Whereas we heard the classic quartet sound, with Dvorak, one instrument was put in a solo position at a time. The first violinist has a complicated part to play. The Mendelssohn quartet was beautiful and reminded me of a Romantic Beethoven. The Dvorak quintet was less organized. His music is far more simplistic, more nationalistic. The third movement started as a beautiful andante though the first violin was still the soloist. It changed into the poco andante with the whole quintet playing. It was the most enjoyable movement of the quintet. The theme has already been repeated in the 2nd movement. In the last movement, the violinist and cello have a perfect duet. It is not in the typical allegro form. One needs to listen to the buildup of the music to understand that the quintet is finishing. It is a long work.

The performance was sublime. There is not much to say. The quartet has been playing together and has a synchronicity in performing. At times I felt that they were performing the Mendelssohn too rhythmically but I wonder if it were my interpretation. The listener has a sense that they had fun playing the Dvorak. Knowing that the cellist was the backbone of the quartet, he sounded as though he enjoyed being put in front with his solos and playing more of the harmony of the quartet.

Listening to the Muir Quartet was a pleasure. I would recommend anyone to go to their concerts. Anyone who didn't like classical music would like quartet music because it is a little bit of all styles.