# Greatest String Quartet cycles of the 20th century



## flamencosketches

I wish to speak about bodies of multiple works rather than individual quartets here. In your eyes, which composer of the 20th century left behind the greatest legacy of String Quartet literature? 

The obvious towering figure over the century in this genre is Béla Bartók, who wrote 6 string quartets, each of which is hailed as a masterpiece and a classic. While I haven't heard all of Shostakovich's quartets, it is tempting to put him in that same elite class as Bartók, as those of his quartets I have heard demonstrate mastery of idiomatic quartet writing and deep evocation of feeling, while never straying far from the classical string quartet form. 

Who is next up after these two? What other 20th century composer left behind a great cycle of string quartets? Hindemith? Schoenberg? Ligeti? Feldman? Cage? Webern (for the sake of inclusivity, I will include works that may not be titled "String Quartet" but are written for same instrumentation)?

Please feel free to contribute with others I may have missed!


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## KenOC

As voted elsewhere -- composers of 20th-century of string quartets:
1 - Bartók, Bela
2 - Shostakovich, Dmitri
3 - Schoenberg, Arnold
4 - Schnittke, Alfred
5 - Martinù, Bohuslav
6 - Holmboe, Vagn
7 - Nørgård, Per
8 - Krenek, Ernst
9 - Bloch, Ernest
10 - Villa-Lobos, Heitor


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## CnC Bartok

Janáček desperately needs mentioning, even though he only composed two Quartets.

Aulis Sallinen has composed six, the first five are recorded, and are excellent.

How about Elizabeth Maconchy too?


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## Bulldog

I'd put Shostakovich first, Weinberg second, and Bartok third. Diamond's string quartets also deserve some exposure


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> I wish to speak about bodies of multiple works rather than individual quartets here. In your eyes, which composer of the 20th century left behind the greatest legacy of String Quartet literature?
> 
> The obvious towering figure over the century in this genre is Béla Bartók, who wrote 6 string quartets, each of which is hailed as a masterpiece and a classic. While I haven't heard all of Shostakovich's quartets, it is tempting to put him in that same elite class as Bartók, as those of his quartets I have heard demonstrate mastery of idiomatic quartet writing and deep evocation of feeling, while never straying far from the classical string quartet form.
> 
> Who is next up after these two? What other 20th century composer left behind a great cycle of string quartets? Hindemith? Schoenberg? Ligeti? Feldman? Cage? Webern (for the sake of inclusivity, I will include works that may not be titled "String Quartet" but are written for same instrumentation)?
> 
> Please feel free to contribute with others I may have missed!


The 20th century was a very successful period for the quartet, and there are tons of exciting exploratory avant garde cycles. But to start with I'd single out Ole-Henrik Moe, and then Helmut Lachenmann and Horațiu Rădulescu.

I think you're wrong to say that Shostakovich and Bartok are towering figures -- except in the sense of number of concerts or CDs made or something like that. The towering figure is Schoenberg.


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## flamencosketches

Mandryka said:


> The 20th century was a very successful period for the quartet, and there are tons of exciting exploratory avant garde cycles. But to start with I'd single out Ole-Henrik Moe, and then Helmut Lachenmann and Horațiu Rădulescu.
> 
> I think you're wrong to say that Shostakovich and Bartok are towering figures -- except in the sense of number of concerts or CDs made or something like that. The towering figure is Schoenberg.


I'm not familiar with any of those composers you mentioned, were they prolific in this genre?

I can understand you denying Shostakovich's contribution to the genre, but Bartók, really? I thought it was pretty much consensus that his quartets are some of the greatest. Schoenberg's quartets, while great, seem to be not quite as singular of an achievement as Bartók's, and certainly not as central to the composer's work as a whole.


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## Quartetfore

Bulldog said:


> I'd put Shostakovich first, Weinberg second, and Bartok third. Diamond's string quartets also deserve some exposure


I`m going to put shostakovich first. for me they stand as great "human'" documents.


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## paulbest

Schnittke has some interesting SQ's, But I'll have to go with,,,lets see ,,,real tough choices here,,,so many great SQ cycles to choose from,,,geee I'm in a ~~pickle~~~,,,well you say, pick your best suggestion right?

Well then,,I'll have to go with. Henze 1-5 SQ's.


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> I'm not familiar with any of those composers you mentioned, were they prolific in this genre?
> 
> I can understand you denying Shostakovich's contribution to the genre, but Bartók, really? I thought it was pretty much consensus that his quartets are some of the greatest. Schoenberg's quartets, while great, seem to be not quite as singular of an achievement as Bartók's, and certainly not as central to the composer's work as a whole.


I really think that it's crazy to try and rank the Bartok and Shostakovich cycles against each other!

The Schoenberg cycle seems to me to take the medium into new, exciting places.

Radulesku wrote a very large number of quartets.


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## flamencosketches

Mandryka said:


> I really think that it's crazy to try and rank the Bartok and Shostakovich cycles against each other!
> 
> The Schoenberg cycle seems to me to take the medium into new, exciting places.
> 
> Radulesku wrote a very large number of quartets.


I was looking into Ole-Henrik Moe and couldn't find any of his string quartets online. Too obscure for my blood.

I don't know about ranking them against each other either, I just think that together they inhabit a space beyond your typical 20th century string quartets. Kind of like how Beethoven's, Mozart's, and Haydn's quartets inhabit a space beyond Boccherini's and Dittersdorf's. Of course, as my ignorance may come to prove, I could easily be wrong, and in fact I made this thread to be proven such. 

As is increasingly clear, my previous analogy may not be at all representative of the 20th century, though, as there are perhaps far more great string quartets in this time than in any previous.


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> Too obscure for my blood.


You see how powerful the media is in forming people's opinions, that's to say, because someone isn't easily accessible on YouTube you write them off as too obscure.


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## Mandryka

Here's Radulesku Quartet 4, which I think is very good, you'll see how much the idiom has moved on since Bartok and Shostakovich. Lachenmann must be easy to find.






And here's an Ole Henrik Moe quartet


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> I don't know about ranking them against each other either, I just think that together they inhabit a space beyond your typical 20th century string quartets. Kind of like how Beethoven's, Mozart's, and Haydn's quartets inhabit a space beyond Boccherini's and Dittersdorf's.


Well if you mean a qualitative space then I don't think so. How are you going to argue that Bartok and Shostakovich wrote more exciting music for string quartet than Horatio Radulescu or Ben Johnson or Heinz Holliger or Brian Ferneyhough?

In all fairness some of the music I've been proposing is probably C21!


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## flamencosketches

Mandryka said:


> You see how powerful the media is in forming people's opinions, that's to say, because someone isn't easily accessible on YouTube you write them off as too obscure.


That was a bit of a joke, and I'm hardly one to write off a composer, artist, musician, or otherwise on grounds of obscurity. But seriously, how am I going to explore a composer's music (more specifically, one I've never heard of but once) if I can't find it?

In any case, this Moe piece was composed in 2006! 21st century music is its own beast.

I will check out the Radulescu later on today, and perhaps the Moe as well. I am hardly familiar with any 21st century classical at all. As for Ferneyhough, I've heard a few string chamber works of his including the trio and at least one of the quartets, and was not terribly impressed with any of it. I bet I'll return to it later on down the road though.


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## flamencosketches

As a tangent off of the notion of the string quartet idiom "moving on" from dinosaurs like Bartók and Shostakovich, what do you think of Ligeti's quartets? Is he a dinosaur now too?

I think this one is phenomenal. From the same Arditti Quartet:


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## MusicSybarite

Grazyna Bacewicz deserves a place too. Her SQs are amazing.


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## Mandryka

flamencosketches said:


> As a tangent off of the notion of the string quartet idiom "moving on" from dinosaurs like Bartók and Shostakovich, what do you think of Ligeti's quartets? Is he a dinosaur now too?
> 
> I think this one is phenomenal. From the same Arditti Quartet:


Yes, well some composers excite your imagination and some composers don't, and I've never felt grabbed enough by Ligeti to really explore. This isn't saying anything about his music, it's just me.


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## flamencosketches

His quartets are worth a listen if nothing else. There's two of them and they're short. I haven't explored much else but the quartets are great.


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## Josquin13

While I've not listened to everything, here are the 20th century SQ cycles that I've heard and will return to (with a few single quartets listed as well)--if pressed, I'd probably place Shostakovich's cycle at #1, and I've tried to provide You Tube links to those SQs that are more off the beaten path ...):

Russian:
--Shostakovich--15
--Prokofiev--2: 




Hungarian:
--Bartok--6

Scandinavian:
--Holmboe--20: 




















--Kokkonen--3:












--Valen--3: 



--Nørgård--10 & counting: 



--Rautavaara--2?: 



--Abrahamsen--4 & counting: 



--Sørensen--not sure how many: 









German:
--Schoenberg--4
--Rihm--13 & counting: 




Czech:
--Martinu--7--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17FjVlA92Mo&list=OLAK5uy_mXssHZ33nptdGqGGDpkjHmgEF4jMrGxrA

U.K.:
--Britten--3
--Tippett--5: 



--Davies--10: 



--Rubbra--4: 




American:
--Schuman--5: 



--Persichetti--4:




https://www.lydianquartet.com/recordings/vincent-persichetti-the-four-string-quartets
--Rochberg--7: 



--Carter--5: 



--Harbison--6 & counting, but I've only heard the first four, which I think highly of. I believe the Lark Quartet has commissioned No. 6, so they'll likely record it.




--Boykan--3: 



--Ives--2




--Barber--1: 



--Johnston--10 & counting--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp7VjBtOJ74

French:
--Ravel--1 (1903): only 1, but it's one of the great SQs in music history: 



--Roussel--1: 



--Magnard--1: 



--Koechlin--3: 












--Ropartz--6 (1893-1949): 








--Milhaud--16:












--Dutilleux--1:



--Dusapin--7 & counting: 




Polish:
--Lutoslawski--1: 



--Penderecki--4 & counting: 




Latvian:
--Vasks--5?--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucb2qd29amI

I also enjoy keeping up with the Lydian Quartet's annual SQ prize & their subsequent recordings of the winner's music: https://www.lydianquartet.com/

In the future, I hope to explore the SQs of Rued Langgaard, which I've yet to get to. I'd also like to hear Poul Ruders' 4 SQs at some point, too.


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## tortkis

Myaskovsky composed 13 substantial string quartets during 1929-1950.
Hindemith's 7 string quartets (1915-1945) are excellent. Very well crafted.
Terry Riley composed several tuneful string quartets (G Song, Salome Dances, Cadenza on the Night Plain, ...)
Babbitt's quartets No. 2-6 (1954-1993; No. 1 was withdrawn) are not so accessible but I keep returning to them.


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## Portamento

A cycle not mentioned yet that would appeal greatly to Hindemith fans: Toch [1902-1954] (the first five quartets are lost).


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## mikeh375

I'll put in a word for Robert Simpson, who wrote 15! 
+1 with Josquin13 for Tippets 5 4tets and Ainsi la nuit by Duttilleux too - not a cycle but surely one of the great masterpieces of the 20thC.

And a special word for Levine Andrade who died toward the end of last year. A founder member of the Arditti (viola), a great musician and an even better friend.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=robert+simpson+quartet






https://www.thestrad.com/news/arditti-quartet-founding-member-levine-andrade-has-died/8381.article


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## CnC Bartok

MusicSybarite said:


> Grazyna Bacewicz deserves a place too. Her SQs are amazing.


They are indeed quite remarkable. A recent and happy discovery on my part the Silesian Qt on Chandos.

There are three by the Polish/British composer Andrzej Panufnik that are well worth hearing too. They have some of those fine qualities that make him such a fantastic symphonist....


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## Agamenon

Quartetfore said:


> I`m going to put shostakovich first. for me they stand as great "human'" documents.


Excellent! Shostakovich´s string quartets are recognized as supreme works of art

However,sometimes these string quartets are underrrated.


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## juliante

MusicSybarite said:


> Grazyna Bacewicz deserves a place too. Her SQs are amazing.


Any particular recommendations from the 7?


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## Quartetfore

Agamenon said:


> Excellent! Shostakovich´s string quartets are recognized as supreme works of art
> 
> However,sometimes these string quartets are underrrated.


I think that is the group of works that give people a problem. My own favorites of all the Quartets are the 5th and the 9th. Just a few days ago a played a very fine rendition by the St. Petersburg Quartet. the other recording I have is by the Mandelring Quartett,very good but different.


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## millionrainbows

> As voted elsewhere -- composers of 20th-century of string quartets:





> 1 - Bartók, Bela
> 2 - Shostakovich, Dmitri
> 3 - Schoenberg, Arnold
> 4 - Schnittke, Alfred
> 5 - Martinù, Bohuslav
> 6 - Holmboe, Vagn
> 7 - Nørgård, Per
> 8 - Krenek, Ernst
> 9 - Bloch, Ernest
> 10 - Villa-Lobos, Heitor




In response, my own list, not in order of anything:

1. Bela Bartók
2. Dmitri Shostakovich
3. Charles Ives (only wrote 2)
4. Milton Babbitt
5. Alfred Schnittke
6. Schoenberg
7. Leon Kirchner
8. Elliott Carter
9. Per Nørgård
10. Vincent Persichetti


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## flamencosketches

millionrainbows said:


> In response, my own list, not in order of anything:
> 
> 1. Bela Bartók
> 2. Dmitri Shostakovich
> 3. Charles Ives (only wrote 2)
> 4. Milton Babbitt
> 5. Alfred Schnittke
> 6. Schoenberg
> 7. Leon Kirchner
> 8. Elliott Carter
> 9. Per Nørgård
> 10. Vincent Persichetti


I actually really want to hear Ives' string quartets now that you mention it. Who has made a good recording of them? Has the Emerson Quartet done it? Or the Juilliards? I can see them tackling such repertoire with aplomb. And ditto Babbitt, for that matter. I'm taking a break from Carter, but his quartets are a part of his works that I really want to explore.

Is there any love for Morton Feldman's two quartets? I understand they're difficult works...!

I want to add a couple of names to my own personal pantheon of 20thC quartet writers: Grazyna Bacewicz, who wrote a bunch of excellent quartets, and Anton Webern, who only wrote a few, but all of which are pure gold...!!

Perhaps also of note are two Czechs: Janáček and Martinů.


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## Rangstrom

I'm fond of Weinberg, Bloch, Rosenberg and Simpson (which was previously noted) quartets.


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## starthrower

Berg's Lyric Suite
Szymanowski
Zemlinsky
Ernst Toch
Karl Hartmann
Gubaidulina

I love Krenek's (who was mentioned) quartets by the Petersen Quartet on Capriccio.


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## starthrower

flamencosketches said:


> His quartets are worth a listen if nothing else. There's two of them and they're short. I haven't explored much else but the quartets are great.


Do yourself a favor and explore the rest. Ligeti was a highly inventive and original composer. The 5 disc Ligeti Project is recommended.


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## flamencosketches

starthrower said:


> Do yourself a favor and explore the rest. Ligeti was a highly inventive and original composer. The 5 disc Ligeti Project is recommended.


Yes, I need to. I have a feeling it might be a big deal when I finally get into Ligeti, so I'm waiting for my obsessions for certain other composers of his generation to fade a bit. Like I said, I really like his string quartets. I have high hopes for his other music.


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## starthrower

flamencosketches said:


> Yes, I need to. I have a feeling it might be a big deal when I finally get into Ligeti, so I'm waiting for my obsessions for certain other composers of his generation to fade a bit.


Ligeti and his contemporaries never fade for me. They are my meat and potatoes of 20th century modern music.


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## flamencosketches

Who else do you mean?


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## millionrainbows

The best Ives quartets for me are the Juilliard, which I imprinted on via a Columbia Masterworks LP. Now on CD, on either Newton or Arkiv. As I recall, there may be some digital editing glitches on the Newton. The Arkiv is a CD-R, though, not a hard disc.

The Emerson on DG is good, also, and includes Samuel Barber's Second.

If you're getting those, you might as well get the four Sonatas for violin & piano. My choice is Paul Zukofsky and Gilbert Kalish on two Folkways issues. These are CD-Rs as well. These will have to do until Paul Zukofsky releases his hold on the original Nonesuch recordings, on LP but never released on CD.


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## Enthusiast

The Maxwell Davies Naxos Quartets belong in any list of the best 20th century quartet cycles.


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## starthrower

flamencosketches said:


> Who else do you mean?


Those born in the first quarter of the 20th century. Krenek, Messiaen, Carter, Lutoslawski, Dutilleux, Boulez, etc. After Takemitsu, and Penderecki born in the early 30s there isn't much that gets me excited. Lots of atonal or new consonance music that doesn't do much for me. And the minimalist school that never captured my imagination. There are loads of more recent atonal quartets that sound very unmusical to my ears. Some listeners love Ferneyhough and the like but it's not my cuppa tea.


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## flamencosketches

starthrower said:


> Those born in the first quarter of the 20th century. Krenek, Messiaen, Carter, Lutoslawski, Dutilleux, Boulez, etc. After Takemitsu, and Penderecki born in the early 30s there isn't much that gets me excited. Lots of atonal or new consonance music that doesn't do much for me. And the minimalist school that never captured my imagination. There are loads of more recent atonal quartets that sound very unmusical to my ears. Some listeners love Ferneyhough and the like but it's not my cuppa tea.


Ah, of course. That was a hell of a generation for sure! Ferneyhough and his contemporaries have yet to impress upon me at all, too. Well, we'll see. Maybe someday.

@millionrainbows, the Juilliard sounds promising, but I just can't deal with digital glitches, and I'm not a fan of CD-R. This is all making the Emerson set sound very appealing. :lol: I'll keep my eyes peeled for the Juilliard LP.


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## Portamento

starthrower said:


> Those born in the first quarter of the 20th century. Krenek, Messiaen, Carter, Lutoslawski, Dutilleux, Boulez, etc. After Takemitsu, and Penderecki born in the early 30s there isn't much that gets me excited. Lots of atonal or new consonance music that doesn't do much for me. And the minimalist school that never captured my imagination. There are loads of more recent atonal quartets that sound very unmusical to my ears. Some listeners love Ferneyhough and the like but it's not my cuppa tea.


Do you like any of the spectralists? Grisey, Murail, Vivier, Rădulescu, etc.


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## TurnaboutVox

I admire and appreciate many of the string quartets by composers named by others in this thread. 

But I am a little surprised that no-one has yet suggested Gyorgy Kurtag, not all of whose works for string quartet were written or completed in the 20th century: there's his Hommage à Jacob Obrecht for string quartet (2004–2005) and 6 Moments Musicaux for string quartet (1999–2005).

I have found that he always has something fresh and interesting to say in the string quartet medium and he's certainly my favourite composer for string quartet of the last quarter of the 20th century and the 21st.


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## starthrower

Portamento said:


> Do you like any of the spectralists? Grisey, Murail, Vivier, Rădulescu, etc.


I have one Murail CD on the Aeon label that I like. I've wanted to pick up something by Grisey for several years but the titles are out of circulation or very expensive. I'll have to stream a few pieces. I'm not familiar with the other two you mentioned.


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## Portamento

starthrower said:


> I have one Murail CD on the Aeon label that I like. I've wanted to pick up something by Grisey for several years but the titles are out of circulation or very expensive. I'll have to stream a few pieces. I'm not familiar with the other two you mentioned.


For Grisey: link (Presto Classical). Get this, stat!


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