Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Nationality: Austrian

Born: January 31, 1797, Vienna Died: November 19, 1828, Vienna (age 31)

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Overture in c minor, D. 8a

(for string quartet)

Largo - Allegro

Duration: 9 minutes (approximately)

Composed: 1811, June 29 (age 13-14)

Premiere: December 13, 1948. Town Hall, New York The Little Orchestra Society

Published: 1948, Litolff's/Peters

Dedication: Ferdinand Schubert [Schubert's brother]

4 recordings, 4 videos

9:41

Verdi Quartet

2:51

Quartet Sine Nomine

8:39

Ecsher String Quartet

9:07

Diogenes Quartet

Related Composers

Johann Hummel (1778-1837)

Friend/Colleague

Nationality: Austrian

Born: November 14, 1778, Pressburg (now Bratislava) Died: October 17, 1837, Weimar (age 58)

glossary

allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
chamber music, Kammermusik [G], musique de chambre [F], musica da camera [I], musica cameralis [L]—"Classical Music" for a small ensemble, generally 8 or fewer players with a canonical emphasis on 3-6 players. explore
largo—slow, solemn, sustained.slower than lento. faster than grave
overture, ouvertura, ouverture—an introduction, typically in a multi-movement work such as a suite. May introduce or summarize themes to come in subsequent movements.
quartet, quatuor [F], quartett [G], quartetto [I], cuarteto [S]—ensemble or work for four players the most important examples being the string quartet and the piano quartet
string quartet, Streichquartett [G], quatuor à cordes [F], quartetto d'archi [I], quartetto di cordi [I], cuarteto de cuerda [S], vonósnégyes [H]—an ensemble as well as music written for that ensemble comprising 2 violins, viola and cello. This is one of the essential genres / forms / ensembles of chamber music and arguably a critical "core" of "classical" music.
Explore the string quartet.
transcription, transcribe—To re-score a work for an ensemble of instruments different from the original version. Typical examples include orchestrating piano or chamber works and visa versa. Within the realm of chamber music, a work for winds might be transcribed for strings, a symphony into a string quartet, a trio featuring a clarinet substituting a viola. One interesting question is: who made the transcription, the original composer? One interesting effect is that the transcription may become favored over the original. One of the most curious transcriptions in all of chamber music is Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht", transcribed from string sextet to piano trio with amazing success by one of his students.