Traditionally beginners to Beethoven start with opus 18no 4 or no1. If you are going to play Beethoven I have found over the years it is often easier for begnning quartets to start with middle ones like opus 59 ratehr than the opus 18 although the latter appear easier on the surface. The Schubert quartets are gorgoues and presnet problems of interpretation of an akward kind that can make them as frustratign a sMozart to try and pull off. There is a very amausing chapter in Indivisble by Four in which a young and brillaint collection of Msuciians led by Arnold Steinhardt prove incaple of mastering even one of these. Mozart quartets are extremely difficult to pull off and very frustrating. You might go back to what i find is his first really moving quarter- 0pus 20 no4. The slow movemen of op 76 no5 is mindblowing. But then they are some of the greatest msuic ever written. Of course the three warhorses (?) Kaiser, Sunrise and fifths are probably played once to often at the expense of others. I think if you are tired of Haydn you probably haven`T explored them enough.
![Sibelius Grieg String Quartets by Guarneri Quartet Sibelius Grieg String Quartets by Guarneri Quartet](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/gX0AAOSwBO1eTegC/s-l640.jpg)
Again, very well suited if you want to surprise your audience with something off the beaten track but without the risk of being too heavy on them, for example Bartok could easily overwhelm an audience unless they're true connoiseurs. Schulhoff's 5 pieces for string quartet are also very rarely performed and every piece is in a totally different style, as diverse as Viennese, Czech, Tango Milonga etc. They are very helpful when it comes to anything in relation to promoting Martinu's music and they do respond to email. You might also email the Martinu Quartet and ask if they will send you their score. In the event you like this piece and want to study it, you will need to contact the Martinu museum in Policka to obtain a copy of the autograph because the score has never been published. The Martinu Quartet on Naxos might well be the only one available outside of the Czech Republic. There are very few performances of this piece outside of the Czech Republic and even fewer recordings.
![Sibelius Grieg String Quartets by Guarneri Quartet Sibelius Grieg String Quartets by Guarneri Quartet](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4-kAAOSw9hpgAMPK/s-l300.jpg)
If you are looking to play something off the beaten track, something to surprise an audience with (in a positive way) I'd highly recommend Martinu's Three Horsemen. Perhaps the 3rd movement is notable because the instruments are played almost like percussion instruments, a good performance of this movement will put any rock band to shame.īohuslav Martinu, Three Horsemen (Tri Jezdci), a single movement quartet which he composed as a 12 year old, in fact his first composition, an absolutely fascinating piece, quite modern for the year in which it was composed (1902) and all the more mind boggling considering it is a 12 year old country boy's first composition. The other movements of this quartet are also outstanding, each one in a different way. Įrvin Schulhoff, Five pieces for string quartet, especially the 2nd mvmt "Alla Serenata", this has an amazing dynamic, but the musicians have to get it right, some lose the dynamic of the piece.ĭmitri Shostakovich, 3rd quartet, in particular the finale (5th movement) which is a beautiful passacaglia with an amazing buildup to its climax. I used to favour the late Beethoven quartets over anything else and I still cherish them, but I also made some new friends since then.