The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet (Paperback)

Robin Stowell

ISBN 10: 0521000424 / ISBN 13: 9780521000420

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003

About this Item

Paperback. This survey of the string quartet by ten chamber music specialists focuses on four main areas: social and musical background to the genre's development; celebrated ensembles and their significance; and string quartet playing. It reviews aspects of contemporary and historical practice, including "mixed ensembles." Informative appendixes and a full chronology of the mainstream repertory complete this compact guide. This Companion offers a concise and authoritative survey of the string quartet by ten chamber music specialists. Its fourteen carefully structured chapters provide coverage of a stimulating range of perspectives previously unavailable in one volume. Its 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 or on recordings. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780521000420

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet (Paperback)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521000424
• ISBN 13: 9780521000420
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Will enrich readers' understanding of the history of the string quartet, the music and its interpretation.

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.