The String Quartet No. 21 in

D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

, K. 575, was written in June 1789 by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. It has acquired the nickname ''The Violet'', used for example in

Hans Keller Hans (Heinrich) Keller (11 March 19196 November 1985) was an Austrian-born British musician and writer, who made significant contributions to musicology and music criticism, as well as being a commentator on such disparate fields as psychoana ...

's chapter of ''The Mozart Companion''. It is the first of the Prussian Quartets. There are four movements: #Allegretto, in D major #Andante, in

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

#Menuetto: Allegretto, in D major with a trio section in

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

#Allegretto in D major The quartet was written for (and in Mozart's private 'thematic catalogue') was described as being dedicated to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, an amateur

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. Of the three Prussian Quartets, K. 575 was the only one Mozart referred to in this way. The quartet was written in a similar style to the quartets of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. Mozart and his friend Karl Lichnowsky met the king in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

in April 1789. Mozart played before the king in Berlin on 26 May 1789, then returned to Vienna. A typical performance lasts around 24 minutes. The middle part of the song " Mozart's House" by UK based indie electronic band

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit is an English electronic music group formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have achieved four number-one singles and six additional top-ten songs on the UK Official Singles Chart. Since 2016, the group has been a trio comprising foundi ...

samples the piece.

References

External links

* * * * , Alban Berg Quartett #21 1789 compositions Compositions in D major Music dedicated to nobility or royalty Frederick William II of Prussia Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart published posthumously {{chamber-composition-stub