The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet (Hardcover)

Stowell, Robin

ISBN 10: 052180194X / ISBN 13: 9780521801942

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003

About this Item

Hardcover. This Companion offers a concise and authoritative survey of the string quartet by eleven chamber music specialists. Its fifteen carefully structured chapters provide coverage of a stimulating range of perspectives previously unavailable in one volume. It focuses on four main areas: the social and musical background to the quartet's development; the most celebrated ensembles; string quartet playing, including aspects of contemporary and historical performing practice; and the mainstream repertory, including significant 'mixed ensemble' compositions involving string quartet. Various musical and pictorial illustrations and informative appendixes, including a chronology of the most significant works, complete this indispensable guide. Written for all string quartet enthusiasts, this Companion will enrich readers' understanding of the history of the genre, the context and significance of quartets as cultural phenomena, and the musical, technical and interpretative problems of chamber music performance. It will also enhance their experience of listening to quartets in performance and on recordings. This Companion will enrich readers' understanding of the history of the genre, the context and significance of quartets as cultural phenomena, and the musical, technical and interpretative problems of chamber music performance. It will also enhance their experience of listening to quartets in live performances and on recordings. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780521801942

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 052180194X
• ISBN 13: 9780521801942
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This Companion offers a concise and authoritative survey of the string quartet by eleven chamber music specialists. Its fifteen carefully structured chapters provide coverage of a stimulating range of perspectives previously unavailable in one volume. It focuses on four main areas: the social and musical background to the quartet's development; the most celebrated ensembles; string quartet playing, including aspects of contemporary and historical performing practice; and the mainstream repertory, including significant 'mixed ensemble' compositions involving string quartet. Various musical and pictorial illustrations and informative appendixes, including a chronology of the most significant works, complete this indispensable guide. Written for all string quartet enthusiasts, this Companion will enrich readers' understanding of the history of the genre, the context and significance of quartets as cultural phenomena, and the musical, technical and interpretative problems of chamber music performance. It will also enhance their experience of listening to quartets in performance and on recordings.

About the Author

Robin Stowell is Professor and Head of Music at the University of Wales College of Cardiff and a professional violinist who has written extensively on stringed instruments and performance. He is author of Violin Technique and Performance Practice in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries (1985), Beethoven: Violin Concerto (1998) and The Early Violin and Viola (2001), editor of Performing Beethoven (1994), The Cambridge Companion to the Violin (1992), The Cambridge Companion to the Cello (1999) and co-author of The Historical Performance of Music: An Introduction (1999), all published by Cambridge University Press.