The String Quartet No. 23 in

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

, K. 590, was written in June 1790 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 is the third of the Prussian Quartets. There are four

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

s in this

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

: # Allegro moderato, in F major # Andante / Allegretto in

C major C major 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 and its parallel min ...

# Menuetto: Allegretto – Trio # Allegro, in F major The quartet was written for and 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 ...

. It is 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 Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky of Woschütz (, also known as ''Carl Alois, Fürst von Lichnowsky-Woschütz''; 21 June 1761 – 15 April 1814) was the second Prince Lichnowsky and a chamberlain at the Imperial Austrian court. He is remembered for ...

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 of that year. The Menuetto is distinguished by the evolution, in the main minuet sections, from a fairly conventional theme to a highly chromatic, driven transition. A typical performance of the quartet lasts 23 to 25 minutes.

References

External links

* *
Recording
by the

Orion String Quartet The Orion String Quartet is a string quartet formed in 1987. It is the quartet-in-residence of New York's Mannes College The New School for Music. The members are Todd and Daniel Phillips, brothers who alternate on first and second violin, violi ...

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 found ...

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

format #23 1790 compositions Compositions in F major Music dedicated to nobility or royalty Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart published posthumously {{chamber-composition-stub