The World of the String Quartet

About this course: Arnold Steinhardt, first violin of the internationally acclaimed Guarneri String Quartet, invites music listeners to the world of the string quartet repertoire and ensemble. Journey with him and interpretive analysis instructor Mia Chung through the history and features of quartet music, colored by stories of legendary quartets and insights from the stage. This season's Curtis courses are sponsored by Linda Richardson in loving memory of her husband, Dr. Paul Richardson.

Created by:  Curtis Institute of Music

• Taught by:  Arnold Steinhardt, Performance Faculty

• Taught by:  Dr. Mia Chung, Instructor of Interpretive Analysis

  Musical Studies

Language English, Subtitles: French How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.7 stars Average User Rating 4.7See what learners said Travail en cours

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Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music educates and trains exceptionally gifted young musicians for careers as performing artists on the highest professional level. Innovative programs encourage students to invent 21st-century musical careers through unique "learn by doing" opportunities and over 150 performances per year in Philadelphia and around the globe. One of the world’s leading conservatories, Curtis provides its 165 students with personalized attention from a celebrated faculty and has produced an impressive number of notable artists since its founding in 1924.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


The World of the String Quartet



Welcome to the World of the String Quartet, where you will hear the extraordinary stories behind great repertoire, discover renowned performers' experiences, and develop keen insight as a listener. This first program samples stunning repertoire from some of the most significant composers: Ravel, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Dvořák. What power can four instruments hold?


11 videos, 10 readings expand

1. Video: Welcome
2. Lecture: Syllabus
3. Lecture: Meet the Class
4. Video: A Musical Revolution
5. Video: String Quartet History
6. Lecture: The Meaning of Four
7. Video: Introducing the Aizuri Quartet
8. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven Op. 18, No. 1
9. Lecture: A Quartet Sampler
10. Video: SCHUBERT "Rosamunde" Quartet, First Movement
11. Video: TCHAIKOVSKY Quartet No.1, Slow Movement
12. Video: DVORAK "American" Quartet, Scherzo Movement
13. Video: BEETHOVEN "Razumovsky" Quartet, Op. 59, No. 3, Finale
14. Lecture: Performance: BEETHOVEN Op. 59, No. 3
15. Video: The Power Of The String Quartet
16. Lecture: Listening List
17. Lecture: 3 Short Questions
18. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #1
19. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
20. Lecture: Explore
21. Lecture: Program 1 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 1-1
Graded: Quiz 1-2

WEEK 2


The Founders: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven



We begin exploring string quartets during the Classical Era, when balanced structure emphasized variety, contrast, and drama. Discover the starting point of four democratic and personal string voices—and, before long, its development—with Haydn (Op. 33, No. 2, "The Joke"), Mozart (K. 465, "Dissonance"), and Beethoven (Op. 18, No. 1; Op. 130; and Op. 131). There was a dramatic change in performance from Beethoven's time to our own era. How did that happen?


12 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: The Classical Era
2. Video: Learning Library
3. Lecture: Glossary
4. Video: The Four-Movement Quartet
5. Video: Haydn's Joke
6. Video: Mozart's "Wrong" Notes
7. Video: Romeo, Juliet, and Beethoven
8. Video: Six Mesmerizing Movements
9. Video: Nuts and Bolts: First Movement--Beethoven, Op. 130
10. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven, Op. 130, Movt. 1
11. Lecture: Performance: Beethoven, Op. 130
12. Video: Nuts and Bolts: First Movement--Beethoven, Op. 131
13. Lecture: Performance: Beethoven, Op. 131
14. Video: Schuppanzigh to the Guarneri Quartet
15. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #2
16. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
17. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
18. Lecture: Program 2 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 2-1
Graded: Quiz 2-2

WEEK 3


The Humanists: Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms



Personal expression infused Romantic Era compositions, including the string quartets of Schubert (D. 810, "Death and the Maiden"), Mendelssohn (Op. 13 and Op. 80), Schumann (Op. 41, No. 3), and Brahms (Op. 51, No. 1). Yet in the generation after Beethoven's towering genius, composers wrote fewer quartets. Why? And where did the followers of Beethoven take the quartet next?


15 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Romanticism, "the New Fantastic Essence"
2. Lecture: Glossary
3. Video: Death and Schubert
4. Video: Nuts and Bolts: Slow Movement--Schubert, "Death and the Maiden"
5. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: 2nd Movt. Cello Variation
6. Lecture: Performance: Schubert, "Death and the Maiden" Quartet
7. Video: Op. 13, an Homage to Beethoven
8. Video: Is It True?
9. Video: A Youthful, Masterful Quartet
10. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Telling Op. 80's Story
11. Video: Schumann's Birthday Gift To Clara
12. Video: Schumann's Lofty Standards
13. Video: Brahms, Patient and Persevering
14. Video: Upholding Tradition
15. Video: Conversation: Fewer Quartets
16. Video: Joachim to the Busch String Quartet
17. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #3
18. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
19. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
20. Lecture: Program 3 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 3-1
Graded: Quiz 3-2
Graded: Quiz 3-3

WEEK 4


The Internationalists, Part 1: Smetana, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, and Bartok



Beyond German-speaking countries, composers adapted the string quartet to their own cultures—some more so than others. National traits, as well as personal stories, emerge in the heartfelt works of Smetana ("From My Life"), Dvořák (Op. 105), Tchaikovsky (Op. 22), Borodin (No. 2), and Bartók (No. 5). How does this very individual music convey its national identity?


10 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: Beyond Germany and Austria
2. Lecture: Glossary
3. Video: Conversation: National Identity and Music
4. Video: A Tone Picture of Smetana's Life
5. Video: Absolutely Dvorak
6. Video: Tchaikovsky's Melancholy Tale
7. Video: In The Gardens of St. Petersburg with Borodin
8. Video: The Borodin and Kolisch Quartets
9. Video: Nuts and Bolts: Scherzo Movement--Bartok, Quartet No. 5
10. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 5
11. Lecture: Bonus--Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 6
12. Lecture: Performance: Bartok, Quartet No. 5
13. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #4
14. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
15. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
16. Lecture: Program 4 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 4-1
Graded: Quiz 4-2

WEEK 5


The Internationalists, Part 2: Debussy, Ravel, Barber, Shostakovich, and Britten



Our international tour continues with France (Debussy and Ravel) and the United States (Barber, Op. 11), a return to the former Soviet Union (Shostakovich, Op. 110), and then to England (Britten, Op. 94), as we follow string quartet stories and techniques from the 1800s into the 1900s. The discoveries of this recent past are preserved by the professional string quartets who worked with these brilliant composers. What do we learn from them—and, from our very own era, the career reflections of the Guarneri Quartet members?


14 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: The Turn of the 19th Century
2. Lecture: Glossary
3. Video: Debussy's "Impressionism"
4. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Debussy's Scherzo Movement
5. Lecture: Performance: Debussy, Op. 10
6. Video: Comparing Debussy and Ravel
7. Video: A Masterpiece From Ravel
8. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Ravel's Scherzo Movement
9. Video: Nuts and Bolts: Scherzo Movements--Debussy and Ravel
10. Lecture: Performance: Ravel, Quartet in F minor
11. Video: Barber's Adagio for the Heart
12. Video: A Stunning Shostakovich Quartet
13. Video: Britten's Dying Chord
14. Video: Composers and Quartets
15. Video: Guarneri Conversation: Beginnings
16. Video: Guarneri Conversation: Four Egos, One Musical Conversation
17. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #5
18. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
19. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
20. Lecture: Program 5 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 5-1
Graded: Quiz 5-2

WEEK 6


The Explorers: Schoenberg, Webern, Berg, Ives, Cage, and Reich



This program's quartets were written during the 20th century, a time of technological exploration and avant-garde expression. Visionary composers such as Schoenberg (Op. 10), Webern (Op. 5), Berg (Lyric Suite), Ives (No. 1), Cage (String Quartet in Four Parts), and Reich (Different Trains) used four string instruments in ways far different than Haydn. What did these composers dare to do, and how does one play works that present an entirely new and unexplored language?


16 videos, 6 readings expand

1. Video: 20th-Century Explorers
2. Lecture: Glossary
3. Video: Schoenberg at the Threshold
4. Video: Atonality and Expressionism
5. Video: Nuts and Bolts: Finales, Schoenberg
6. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 2, IV. Entruckung
7. Lecture: Performance: Schoenberg, Op. 10
8. Video: Webern In Miniature
9. Video: Berg's Dissonant Love Story
10. Video: Conversation: The Second Viennese School
11. Video: Conversation: American Modernists
12. Video: Hymns a la Ives
13. Video: Nuts and Bolts: Finales--Ives, Quartet No. 1
14. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Quartet No. 1, IV. Allegro marziale
15. Lecture: Performance: Ives, Quartet No. 1
16. Video: Cage's Four Seasons
17. Video: Rail Travel with Reich
18. Video: Premieres by Kolisch, Rose, and Kronos
19. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #6
20. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
21. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
22. Lecture: Program 6 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 6-1
Graded: Quiz 6-2

WEEK 7


Space Odyssey, the Next Frontier



We look ahead by first looking back: grappling with the dizzying innovation of Beethoven's late quartets (Op. 130 and the Great Fugue), which challenge performers and listeners still. Then we leap forward to the digital premiere of David Ludwig's breathtaking "Pale Blue Dot," performed by the Dover Quartet, for whom it was written in 2014. To what new frontiers will the seemingly simple yet endlessly varied combination of two violins, a viola, and a cello, take us next?


8 videos, 5 readings expand

1. Video: Welcome to the Future
2. Lecture: Glossary
3. Video: Back To Beethoven
4. Video: Forever Contemporary
5. Video: A Complex Struggle
6. Video: Aizuri Demonstration: Beethoven, Op. 130 Cavatina
7. Video: Conversation: Confessions of Beethoven
8. Video: Pale Blue Dot Preview
9. Lecture: Digital Premiere: Pale Blue Dot by David Ludwig
10. Video: With No Strings Attached: Question #7
11. Lecture: I Know the Answer (I Think) to With No Strings
12. Lecture: String Quartet Guide
13. Lecture: Program 7 Transcripts

Graded: Quiz 7-1

Please Tell Us What You Think



1 reading expand

1. Lecture: Course Experience Survey