William Schuman

William Schuman (1910-1992)

Nationality: American
Born: August 4, 1910, New York Died: February 15, 1992, New York (age 81)
wikipedia

String Quartet No. 4

(for 2 violins, viola and cello)
I. Adagio
II. Allegro con fuoco
III. Andante
IV. Presto - Prestissimo
Duration: 30 minutes (approximately)
Composed: 1950 (age 39-40)
Commission: Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation in the Library of Congress in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Foundation and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the library.
Premiere: October 28, 1950. Library of Congress. Hungarian String Quartet
1 recording, 1 videos
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29:09
Juilliard String Quartet

glossary

  • -issimo [I]—An ending used to form a superlative meaning "very", "extremely", "the most". E.g. presto = fast, prestissimo = extremely fast
  • adagio [It]—slow tempo, often implying a lyrical, poignant character
  • allegro [I]—fast, lively tempo. From the Italian word for cheerful or gay.
  • andante [I]—moderately slow tempo (e.g. walking). Faster than adagio but slower than allegretto
  • 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
  • con [I,S]—with
  • fuoco, con fuoco, avec feu [Fr], mit Feuer [G], feurig [G]—fire, fiery; passionately, burning energy and excitement; impetuously
  • prestissimo—as fast as possible
  • presto—very fast, more so than allegro.
  • 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.