The String Quintet No. 3 in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor a ...

, K. 515 was written by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

. Like all of Mozart's string quintets, it is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

and an extra

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

(two

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s, two violas and

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

). The work was completed on April 19, 1787, less than a month before the completion of his stormy G Minor Quintet, K. 516. This would not be the last time that a great pair of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the ...

works of the same form would be published in close proximity and assigned consecutive Köchel numbers. The following year, the 40th (G minor) and 41st (C major) symphonies would be completed within a few weeks of each other.

Movements

The work is in standard four movement form, though published with the middle movements in reverse order, the Minuet movement preceding the 'slow' movement: *I. Allegro in C major *II. Menuetto:

Allegretto In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (oft ...

in C major, with trio in F major *III. Andante in F major *IV. Allegro in C major Mozart's final intentions on movement order are not entirely known, and both orders are common amongst chamber musicians. The first movement is massive in scope. Indeed, it is the largest "sonata-allegro" movement before

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, usually taking about a quarter of an hour to perform.

Influence

This quintet inspired

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

to write his own string quintet in the same key (his scoring involves two cellos rather than two violas as in Mozart's quintet). The opening theme of Schubert's work retained many of the characteristics of Mozart's opening theme, such as decorative

turn Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...

s, irregular phrase lengths, and rising

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and has appeared in music ...

arpeggios (the latter appear only in Schubert's recapitulation).Rosen 2003 The influence can also be found in Hummel's Bassoon Concerto in F. In the third movement, one can easily find the similarity in the same rondo theme.

Notes

References

*Berger, Melvin (2001). ''Guide to Chamber Music'', Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. . * Rosen, Charles (1997). ''The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven'', New York: W. W. Norton & Co. . *Rosen, Charles (2003). "Schubert and the example of Mozart", in Brian Newbould d. ''Schubert the Progressive: History, Performance Practice, Analysis'', Ashgate.

External links

* *
Performance of String Quintet No. 3 by the Musicians from Marlboro
from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was foun ...

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format String quintets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Compositions in C major 1787 compositions {{chamber-composition-stub