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The Graduate School
2008
A Survey and Bibliography of Chamber
Music Appropriate for Student String
Ensembles with Three or More Violins
Galen Kaup
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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
A SURVEY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHAMBER MUSIC APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENT
STRING ENSEMBLES WITH THREE OR MORE VIOLINS
By
Galen Kaup
A Treatise submitted to the
College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Music
Degree Awarded:
November, 2008
The members of the Committee approve the Treatise of Galen Kaup defended on October 22,
2008.
__________________________
Eliot Chapo
Professor Directing Treatise
__________________________
Alexander Jimenez
Committee Member
__________________________
Michael Buchler
Outside Committee Member
The Office of Graduate studies has verified and approved the above named committee
members.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT
v
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1
CHAPTER 2. A HISTORY OF STRING CHAMBER ENSEMBLES WHICH
INCLUDE THREE OR MORE VIOLINS
4
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF WORKS
6
CHAPTER 3. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHAMBER MUSIC
APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENT STRING ENSEMBLES WITH THREE OR
MORE VIOLINS
8
METHODOLOGY
8
KEY TO PITCH NOTATION
9
VIOLIN TRIOS
9
Fux, Johann Josef. Sonata in F Major for Three Violins.
Quantz, Johann Joachim. Sonata for Three Flutes (Violins or other
Instruments) without Bass.
Hook, James. Six Trios Op. 83 for Three Transverse Flutes or Three
Violins or Transverse Flute, Violin, and Viola.
Dvořák, Antonín. Gavotte for Three Violins.
Hermann, Friedrich. Burlesque, Op. 9, for Three Violins.
Toch, Ernst. Serenade for Three Violins, Op. 20.
Egk, Werner. Allegro for Three Violins.
QUARTETS WITH THREE VIOLINS
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Sonata for Three Violins and Basso Continuo. 16
Franklin, Benjamin. String Quartet.
17
DeLamarter, Eric. Foursome; For 3 Violins and Viola.
18
VIOLIN QUARTETS
19
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Concerto for Four Violins without Basso
Continuo.
Lachner, Ignaz. Quartet for Four Violins, Op. 107.
iii
19
20
Schaeffer, Boguslaw. Concerto for Four Violins.
Bacewicz, Grażyna. Quartet for Four Violins.
Lutosławski, Witold. Four Silesian Melodies: for Four Violins.
Reich, Steve. Violin Phase.
Makris, Andreas. Scherzo for Four Violins.
STRING QUINTETS WITH THREE OR FOUR VIOLINS
Scheidt, Samuel. Canzon super Intradam Aechiopicam für Funf
Stimmen.
Vivaldi, Antonio. Concerto in F Major for Four Violins, Violoncello and
String Orchestra, Op. 3 No. 7.
Aumann, Franz. Partita in G Major for Four Violins and Violoncello.
Zimmermann, Anton. Twelve Quintets.
Loeffler, Charles Martin. Quintet (1894).
Feldman, Morton. Violin and String Quartet.
CONCLUSION
20
21
22
23
24
24
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
BIBLIOGRAPHY
31
ARTICLES AND REFERENCE WORKS
31
SCORES AND PARTS CONSULTED
32
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
34
iv
ABSTRACT
The typical college or university string department includes more violin students than lower
string students. For a chamber music coordinator to assign all violin students to chamber groups, they
must either assign violists and violoncellists to multiple quartets apiece, or look outside the string
quartet repertoire. This creates a natural demand for string chamber works that include three or more
violins. However, major composers wrote few works for these ensembles, and works written by lesser
composers can be difficult to find and are of inferior quality. To make matters worse, few references
describe works for these ensembles.
This treatise addresses the lack of reference material on string chamber works including three or
more violins by providing an annotated bibliography of twenty-three available works for ensembles
ranging in size from trios for three violins to quintets for string quartet with an added third violin. The
annotations describe each work‟s availability, technical difficulties, and ensemble and stylistic content.
This assists students and coaches in finding appropriate material for a string chamber ensemble that
includes three or more violinists.
v
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Chamber music is an important part of a college music curriculum. The rich literature of
string and piano trios, quartets, and quintets provides an excellent education in chamber music
skills. Over the centuries, great composers have written enough such works to provide variety to
a chamber music program. However, in most student orchestras, both the first and second violin
sections are bigger than any lower string section, and the most common chamber groupings use
no more than two violins. Then, since their student demographics do not agree with the groups
for which Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven composed, faculty may assign violists and violoncellists
to multiple quartets apiece. Another solution is to select repertoire that requires more violins
than lower strings. This can be accomplished either with trios for two violins and a viola or
cello, or groups that include at least three violins.
If a coach or chamber music coordinator seeks appropriate pieces for a string chamber
group with three or more violins, they will find relatively few available works. Furthermore, the
best-known composers, such as Vivaldi, Telemann, and Dvorak, wrote relatively simple works
for multiple violins that more advanced students may consider “kids‟ pieces.” Thus, an advanced
group must turn to less well-known composers and works.
If the university library includes no works of an appropriate difficulty, and no local
composer steps in to fill the gap, one must rely on publishers‟ catalogs or interlibrary loans. This
takes time and/or money, and it would be preferable to research the available pieces and request
only those that their group can use. Unfortunately, chamber music with three or more violins
falls between the subject areas of general chamber music and violin music, and receives little
coverage. Reference works about chamber music usually focus on the more common ensembles,
and often mention no trios, quartets, or quintets that include at least three violins. Among those
references with some relevant information, Farish and Wilkins‟s indices of string music1 list only
1
Margaret K. Farish, String Music in Print, 2nd ed. (New York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1973), and Wilkins, Wayne, ed.,
The Index of Violin Music (Magnolia: The Music Register, 1973). String Music in Print includes two major
1
titles and publishing information, with no annotations. Several later supplements bring these
works more up to date, but without adding annotations that could allow a coach or chamber
music coordinator to find works of an appropriate difficulty for their students. Monosoff and
Schwarz‟s reviews2 mention some points of confusion in both indices, although Monosoff
considers Farish‟s work better organized than Wilkins‟s. Bachmann‟s An Encyclopedia of the
Violin3 includes an unannotated index of string music. The only annotated reference cited here,
MENC‟s report “Materials for Miscellaneous Instrumental Ensembles,”4 is neither specific to the
violin, nor does it provide in-depth descriptions. While it gives a difficulty level from I to VI for
each piece, and makes brief but useful comments, most of the material has a grade of IV or
lower, generally too low to be of much use to university students. It also is not in any sense
comprehensive.
Watson‟s article, “String Chamber Music: The Lesser Combinations,”5 includes only very
limited relevant information. He recommends several terzettos (two violins and viola) and
terzetto rearrangements, which are less common than string trios for either two violins and cello
or trios for violin, viola and cello, but mentions only one chamber work including three violins,
Ignaz Lachner‟s Quartett für drei Violinen und Viola in C-dur, Op. 1066.
This treatise aims to describe available works useful as teaching pieces for undergraduate
string chamber music students in a string department with a shortage of lower strings. It assumes
that these students, given enough lower string players, would study repertoire such as the major
string quartets from Haydn through Shostakovich. It ignores works that include instruments
supplements from 1984 and 1998, the second with a different editor. While in 1973, Farish sorted string trios and
quartets by instrumentation, she abandoned this practice in the 1984 supplement. The Index of Violin Music has
several supplements added at later dates with similar formatting to the original.
2
Sonya Monosoff, Review of The Index of Violin Music (Strings), 1973 Supplement to The Index of Violin Music,
and The Index of Violin Music (Winds), Including The Index of Baroque Trio Sonatas, by Wayne Wilkins, Notes, 2nd
Series 31, no. 1 (September 1974): 59-60, and Boris Schwarz, Review of String Music in Print, 2nd ed., by Margaret
K. Farish, Notes, 2nd Series 31, no. 1 (September 1974): 60-61.
3
Alberto Bachmann, An Encyclopedia of the Violin, ed. Albert E. Wier (New York: Da Capo Press, 1966).
4
George E. Waln, Chairman, Materials for Miscellaneous Instrumental Ensembles (Washington: MENC, 1960).
5
Arthur J. Watson, “String Chamber Music: The Lesser Combinations,” Music and Letters 10, no. 3 (July 1929):
292-98.
6
This particular work was unavailable for interlibrary loan from any library in the United States, and is thus not
included in this treatise. However, Lachner‟s Op. 107 Quartet, for four violins, does appear.
2
outside the orchestral strings, because the typical departmental division of a music college sorts
these students into different departments with separate chamber music programs. It ignores trios
for two violins and viola or violoncello because, while they include as many violins as a string
quartet with only half the lower string complement, major composers have written enough works
for these combinations that they appear in more mainstream chamber music indices. It also
ignores works for six or more players, because chamber works including six or more players
present balance and ensemble problems not seen in string quartets.
These restrictions result in an annotated bibliography of twenty-three string chamber
music works for three to five players, including at least three violins. This list includes works of
a difficulty appropriate for undergraduate string chamber groups. However, a coach or chamber
music coordinator who undertakes a WorldCat search for chamber music for these ensembles
will turn up inappropriate works. Thus, this treatise includes works inappropriate for
undergraduate chamber music study, as well as the technical, ensemble, and stylistic details to
allow a coach or chamber music coordinator to distinguish between appropriate and
inappropriate works. As a result, groups more or less advanced than this standard may find
appropriate music described here, but any work clearly listed as “Juvenile” in the WorldCat
listings does not appear.
3
CHAPTER 2
A HISTORY OF STRING CHAMBER ENSEMBLES WHICH INCLUDE THREE OR
MORE VIOLINS
Standard instrumentations strongly dominate string trios, quartets, and quintets, as a
search of the WorldCat database and scan of Grove Music Online articles clearly demonstrates.
A WorldCat search found 17,572 score entries classified under “String Quartets,” but only 217
score entries classified under “String Quartets (Violins(4))” and 9 score entries under “String
Quintets (Violins(5)).” Of the ensembles covered in this treatise, “String Trios (Violins(3))” had
the most score entries at 353. The Grove Music Online articles for “Chamber Music,” “Quartet,”
“Quintet,” “String Quartet,” and “Trio” make no mention of string ensembles with three or more
violins, and Grove mentions very little elsewhere. The entry for “String Trio” at least mentions
that “many Renaissance consort pieces and Baroque sonatas, however, were also written for
three string instruments, either viols or violins, with or without continuo.” The Grove article on
“String Quintet” mentions quintets with three violins by Sammartini, and indicates that others
exist. The article on “Trio Sonata” mentions the existence of trios for three soprano instruments
and continuo. The entry for “Violin” mentions the Vivaldi multiple-violin concertos and Steve
Reich‟s Violin Phase. No entry in Grove Music Online relates substantially to this treatise‟s
subject.
Major composers such as Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven preferred instrumentations that
balanced treble and bass. However, string chamber ensembles involving three or more violins
have dense treble and thin bass ranges, and an even thinner repertoire. Because of their rarity,
string chamber works including three or more violins do not have a detailed history and
development of their own, mostly existing as a series of isolated pieces. Some concerti grossi of
Telemann and Vivaldi require three or more solo violins, in one case without accompaniment7.
Quantz wrote several works involving multiple flutes, one of which appears in this paper because
Quantz himself listed violins as an alternate instrumentation8, and Goertzen9 mentions that the
7
Georg Philipp Telemann, Concerto for 4 Violins without Basso Continuo, TWV 40:202 (various editions).
Johann Joachim Quantz, Sonate für drei Flöten (Violinen oder andere Instrumente) ohne Baß, ed. Erich Doflein
8
4
concerti of Vivaldi's "L'Estro Armonico" influenced Bach and Quantz. His quote from Quantz‟s
autobiography, “the magnificent ritornellos of Vivaldi served me as excellent models,” refers to
orchestral passages, but it nevertheless establishes that Quantz studied Vivaldi‟s scores. One
might suppose that Quantz observed Vivaldi‟s handling of dense treble instrumentations, one of
the few observable links between works covered in this treatise.
One might expect to find many string chamber works involving three or more violins
written by violinist-composers, but the violinist-composers listed here (Bacewicz, Vivaldi, and
Zimmermann, to name three) are all better known as composers than as violinists. Such
violinist-composers as Paganini, Joachim, Sarasate, and Kreisler balked at requiring more than
one other solo violinist at a time. One might also expect to find pieces written for more violins
than usual when composers had a limited selection of available instruments. This would most
often happen with pieces written for amateurs or students, rather than organized professional
groups. The instrumentation of Vivaldi‟s concerti grossi was arguably influenced by which of
his La Pieta students excelled the most. More certainly, both Quantz and his employer, King
Frederick, played the flute, so Quantz had great reason to write for multiple flutes. Indeed,
Quantz‟s output includes twenty-one flute duos and four flute trios10. Benjamin Franklin clearly
designed his scordatura quartet for amateurs, and it may lack a violist as a reflection of his circle
of friends in France11. The little-known Johann Josef Fux and James Hook12 wrote relatively
easy trios, accessible for amateurs. An Enlightenment-era composer publishing chamber works
for middle-class and wealthy amateurs had much more reason to write for the prevailing musical
demographics than Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven.
(London: Barenreiter, 1964).
9
Chris Goetzen, “Violin,” part 4-II, Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed 3/21/08), http://grovemusic.com.
10
Andreas Giger and Edward R. Reilly, “Johann Joachim Quantz,” in Grove Music Online.
11
Benjamin Franklin, String Quartet, arr. Michael Vidulich (San Diego: Nick Stamon Press, 1987). M. E.
Grenander, "Reflections on the String Quartet(s) Attributed to Franklin," American Quarterly, Vol. 27, no. 1 (Mar.,
1975), 73-87 concludes that Franklin probably composed this quartet during his diplomatic stay in France from
1777-85.
12
Johann Josef Fux, Sonata in F Major; Three violins, ed. Brian Clark (Huntingdon: King‟s Music Gmc., 1991), and
James Hook, 6 Trios Op. 83 fur 3 Querflöten oder 3 Violinen oder Querflöte, Violine, Viola (Wilhelmshaven:
Heinrichshofen‟s Verlag, 1985). The Rubank edition, and, as far as can be determined from WorldCat, the original
edition (London: Bland & Weller's, ca. 1796) referred to him as “Mr. Hook” rather than “James Hook.”
5
Chronological Table of Works
Composer
Abbreviated Title
Page Date
Samuel Scheidt
Canzon super Intradam.... 24
(l. 1587-1654) 3Vln,Va,Vc
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto, Op. 3 No. 7
25
1711
Georg Philipp
Telemann
Concerto, TWV 40:202
19
(l. 1681-1767) 4Vln
Georg Philipp
Telemann
Sonata, TWV 51:B2
16
c. 1708-14
Johann Josef Fux
Sonata in F Major
9
copied c. 1730 3Vln
Johann Quantz
Sonata for 3 Fl, QV 3:3:2 10
(l. 1697-1773) 3Vln (originally 3Fl)
Franz Aumann
Partita G-Dur
26
(l. 1728-1797) 3Vln,Va,Vc
Benjamin Franklin
Quartet
17
1777-1785
Anton Zimmermann
Twelve Quintets
27
(l. 1741-1781) 3Vln,Va,Vc
James Hook
Six Trios, Op. 83
11
1797
3Vln
Ignaz Lachner
Quartet, Op. 107
20
c. 1893-95
4Vln
Antonín Dvořák
Gavotte for Three Violins 12
1890
3Vln
C. M. Loeffler
Quintet (1894)
28
1894
3Vln,Va,Vc
Friedrich Hermann
Burlesque, Op. 9
13
pub. c. 1900
3Vln
Ernst Toch
Serenade, Op. 20
14
pub. 1912
3Vln
Werner Egk
Allegro
15
1923
3Vln
Eric DeLamarter
Foursome
18
pub. 1948
3Vln,Va
Boguslaw Schaeffer
Concerto for Four Violins 20
1948
4Vln
Grażyna Bacewicz
Quartet for Four Violins
21
1949
4Vln
Witold Lutosławski
Four Silesian Melodies
22
1954
4Vln
Steve Reich
Violin Phase
23
1967
4Vln
Andreas Makris
Scherzo
24
pub. 1975
4Vln
Morton Feldman
Violin and String Quartet 29
pub. 1985
3Vln, Va, Vc
6
Instrumentation
4Vln,Vc (orig. B.C.)
3Vln,B.C.
3Vln,Vc
After Hook‟s 1797 trios, the next work in this treatise appears around 1890, ninety-three
years later13. Romantic composers generally used the same ensembles as Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven, and Romanticism was philosophically unsuited to the ensembles covered in this
treatise. Christina Bashford‟s “Chamber music” article in Grove Music Online makes one point
that emphasizes how incompatible Romantic ideas were with ensembles without a balance
between treble and bass. She states that 19th-century concert music from Beethoven‟s Op. 59
quartets and „Kreutzer‟ violin sonata onwards was written for professional players, and often
specific performers, and uses “quasi-orchestral sonorities.” The string chamber ensembles
covered in this treatise include no more than two lower strings apiece. Thus, they can‟t include a
“quasi-orchestral” bass and middle range equal to that of the standard string quartet except in the
case of three violins, viola, and violoncello. Even three violins, viola, and violoncello cannot
compete for depth of sonority with viola or cello quintets that include a more even distribution of
instrumental ranges, and Romantic composers wishing to create “quasi-orchestral sonorities”
naturally favored the more balanced viola or cello quintet. This problem explains the lack of
string chamber music including three or more violins from 1797 to 1890.
Dvořák‟s 1890 Gavotte is designed for students, but three of the next four pieces (by
Loeffler, Toch, and Egk) are serious works written for unusual instrumentation, and more
emphatically end the lack of string chamber music involving three or more violins seen through
most of the 1800s14. These pieces are noticeably more complicated than the earlier works.
Higher top ranges also made writing for three or more violin parts easier, for example in the high
first-violin tessitura of the Loeffler quintet. Hermann‟s Burlesque, a series of virtuoso variations
on the tune “Have you ever seen a lassie…” is a virtuoso showpiece rather than a serious work,
but still spaces the three violin parts over a wider range than earlier works. In the last seven
pieces, from the 1940s and later, we see a mixture of difficulty levels and a number of four-violin
pieces. This is perhaps because composers have felt less constrained by the older forms.
The Dvořák Gavotte is definitely 1890. According to the WorldCat entry, Lachner's Op. 108, "4 Duos: pour piano
et violon: op. 108" was published in 1895, so Op. 107 is probably later than the Dvořák.
14
Charles Martin Loeffler, Quintet (1894), ed. Adolfo Betti (New York: G. Schirmer, 1938), Ernst Toch, Serenade for
Three Violins, Op. 20 (Los Angeles: Affiliated Musicians, Inc., 1954) and Werner Egk, Allegro für 3 Violinen
(Mainz: Schott Musik International, 2001).
13
7
CHAPTER 3.
AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHAMBER MUSIC APPROPRIATE FOR
STUDENT STRING ENSEMBLES WITH THREE OR MORE VIOLINS
Methodology
The author found most of these works through the WorldCat database, a database often
used to locate works for interlibrary loans. Since WorldCat lists the number of libraries that own
each work, it provides a good estimate of how easily a chamber music coach or coordinator can
find a work in their local music library or through interlibrary loan. The author also searched
various publishers‟ catalogues, both for works not found through a WorldCat instrumentation
search and for alternate editions of already located works. Unfortunately, many of these works
have gone out of print or were published by companies no longer active under the names listed in
WorldCat or older print catalogues. The existing catalogues of Farish, Wilkins, and MENC
included more works, but mainly served as a guide for what to search for in WorldCat and
publishing catalogs. A work listed in a chamber music catalog, but neither available in print or
through interlibrary loan, does a performer little good.
This treatise lists works under their standardized English names in all but one case15,
sorted first by instrumentation and then chronologically. In general, typing the English title of
these works into WorldCat also returns foreign translations of that English title. The entry lists
the specific names and translations the work has been published under, the year of composition,
the length of the work, the known publishers, and the total number of WorldCat entries listed
under all of these various publishers. For each publisher, the author provides ordering
information when possible. It then discusses the work itself, beginning with “Technical
Difficulties.” This includes the highest and fastest notes in each part, any notably difficult lefthand techniques such as double-stops or fingered harmonics, and any right-hand techniques such
as unusual or difficult bowings, pizzicato, or other alternate bow techniques. The “Technical
15
Samuel Scheidt‟s “Canzon super Intradam Aechiopicam für Funf Stimmen” mixes languages and appears in the
original German/Latin hybrid.
8
Difficulties” section also warns of two pieces (Benjamin Franklin‟s quartet and Franz Aumann‟s
quintet) which include scordatura (re-tuning of the strings on a string instrument to different
pitches) that can snap strings. Under “Ensemble Characteristics,” the author discusses overall
melodic and rhythmic speed and complexity, as well as melodic and rhythmic interaction
between the parts, and anything else that complicates coordinating the ensemble. The “Stylistic
Characteristics” include tonality and harmony, locating the piece in music history.
Key to Pitch Notation
This treatise uses the American Acoustical Society‟s system of pitch notation, which
gives each pitch an octave number after its note name. Each numbered octave begins on a low C
and extends upwards to a high B, with octave 4 extending from middle C (C4) to the B above
middle C (B4). Violin range begins on G3, the open G string below middle C, and any note in
octave 6 or higher requires a shift or stretch to play on the violin.
Violin Trios
Fux, Johann Josef (1660-1741). Sonata in F Major for Three Violins.
Also Listed As: Sonata a tre (Schott), Sonata a tre in F Major e67, for 3 Violins (Garri).
Year of Composition: Copied circa 1730 by Christoph Graupner.
Length: Four short movements. The Schott score includes only four pages.
Publisher(s): Huntingdon: King‟s Music Gmc, 1991, ed. Brian Clark. No listed website. Also
available from Mainz: Schott Music, 1991, ed. Wilhelm Friedrich, as “Sonata a tre,”
order number ANT 40 (www.schott-music.com). Frankfurt: Garri Editions, 2006, ed.
Alejandro Garri, assisted by Kent Carlson, as “Sonata a tre in F Major e67, for 3 Violins.”
The Garri edition could possibly be a different piece based on the length of the score
(eighteen pages).
Availability: Listed by forty libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The first violin reaches C6, while the other two parts remain in first
position. Fux writes slightly awkward sixteenth-note passages in the final Allegro
9
movement, but they rarely require more than one shift per measure. He writes no doublestops, special bowings or alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: As one could expect from the pre-1730 composition date, Fux writes
much imitation, distributing melody, moving lines, and cues between all three violins.
Fux produces his motor rhythms as much from syncopation as from repeated eighth notes
in a single part, so the three parts often contrast rhythmically.
Stylistic Characteristics: Fux‟s Sonata displays typically Baroque chord sequences and
accidentals, and frequent imitative gestures between parts.
Quantz, Johann Joachim (1697-1773). Sonata for Three Flutes (Violins or other
Instruments) without Bass.
Also Listed As: Sonate für drei Flöten (Violinen oder andere Instrumente) ohne Baß
(Baerenreiter), Sonata, F major, for three alto recorders (flutes, violins), op. III, nr. 6.
(Peters, Heinrichshofen), and as QV 3:3:2.
Year of Composition: Quantz lived from 1697 to 1773.
Length: Five movements, Vivace, Largo, Rigaudon, Minuett, and Vivace, lasting fifty-four, forty,
forty-five, eighty-four, and thirty-six measures respectively without repeats. The final
Vivace has a thirty-nine measure D.C. while the other four movements are repeated.
Publisher(s): New York: Barenreiter (Nagels Verlag), ed. Erich Doflein, 1962.
(http://www.baerenreiter.com/, BA7404.) New York: International Music Co., ed. John
Wummer, 1975. (www.internationalmusicco.com, 2769.) New York: C.F. Peters Corp.,
ed. Hugo Ruf, 1973. Peters‟ website lists a Quantz trio as catalog GM 745
(http://www.edition-peters.com/), but WorldCat lists the Peters edition in F Major, while
GM 745 is in D Major. Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1989. (www.heinrichshofen.de/,
N3380.)
Availability: Listed by 216 libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The first two parts reach E6 and the third part reaches D6. Quantz listed
flute before violin in the title, and some trills in each part of the Rigaudon require rapid
shifts into second and third position with slightly awkward accidentals for the violin.
Other than these passages that lie better for flute than violin, the Sonata is technically
10
simple.
Ensemble Characteristics: This is a nicely written teaching piece for three treble instruments.
Quantz typically juxtaposes two rhythmic ideas at a time. He writes a few measures of
syncopated quarter and eighth notes in the opening Vivace, but does not set these against
opposing quarter-note figures. Each part plays at least one melodic line, the first part
with the most and the third with the least, and the accompanying lines carry some
interest.
Stylistic Characteristics: This charming little Enlightenment sonata, well-written and otherwise
unremarkable except for the instrumentation, is accessible to students or amateurs.
Hook, James (1746-1827). Six Trios, Op. 83, for 3 Transverse Flutes or 3 Violins or
Transverse Flute, Violin, and Viola.
Also Listed As: 6 Trios Op. 83 fur 3 Querflöten oder 3 Violinen oder Querflöte, Violine, Viola
(Heinrichshofen), Six trios for three flutes (or for three clarinets, three saxophones, or
similar like-instruments), Op. 83, and 6 Trios, opus 83 : for three flutes or violins, or
flute, violin & viola.
Year of Composition: 1797.
Length: Six multimovement trios, although individual movements can be as short as one page in
score.
Publisher(s): Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen‟s Verlag, 1985. (http://www.heinrichshofen.de/) In
print as Verlags-No. 1891 and 1893. Chicago/Miami: Rubank, 1956 is the most common
reference in WorldCat, but only the Heinrichshofen edition mentions the possibility of
three violins. (http://www.halleonard.com/, score 4474630, parts 4474600-4474620.)
Also published by Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland: Piper Publications, 1995.
(http://www.piperpublications.co.uk, PNCF007b/A or B). Other editions publish
individual trios from the set, described as music for three flutes without alternate
instrumentation.
Availability: Listed by 141 libraries in WorldCat, plus additional references to individual trios
from the set.
Technical Difficulties: Hook designed the technique of these fairly simple trios for flute rather
11
than violin. Their tessituras remain consistent between trios and movements. In each
trio, the first part reaches D6 or E6, the second part usually reaches A5 (but no higher),
and the third part reaches no higher than F-sharp5. The first part includes some slightly
awkward high passages for a violin. For example, the G-sharp in bar 5 of the first
movement makes the rest of the measure lie poorly. Some of Hook‟s dotted figures
involve allegretto thirty-second notes. Hook uses staccato markings, but does not
request pizzicato or any other alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: Hook writes dependent rather than independent rhythms, setting
dotted figures against longer notes, and syncopated eighth notes against motor sixteenths.
The first part dominates. Hook uses terraced entrances frequently, with the upper parts
entering first, but the first part sometimes retains equal importance even during later
entrances.
Stylistic Characteristics: Hook uses the typical four- and eight-bar divisions of the
Enlightenment era. He tonicizes the dominant in some but not all movements.
Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904). Gavotte for Three Violins.
Also Listed As: Gavota: Tre Violini (Supraphon, Státní Hudební Vydavatelství.) The Státní
Hudební Vydavatelství edition only appears under this translation in WorldCat.
Year of Composition: 1890.
Length: Fifty measures without repeats, with a twenty-five measure D.C., 107 measures with
repeats.
Publisher(s): Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1985. (Now named Editio Barenreiter Praha,
http://www.sheetmusic.cz/) In print as Miniatures Op. 75 a / Gavotte B 164, catalogue
number H 3392. Boca Raton: Masters Music Publications, 2003. (www.mastersmusic.com/) In print as Miniatures, Op. 75a, Gavotte, catalogue number M3670. Also
published by Praha: Státní Hudební Vydavatelství, 1962 as Gavota: Tre Violini.
Availability: Listed by thirty-eight libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The first violin part requires two shifts to third position and one to fifth,
reaching F6. The other two parts stay in first position. No part moves faster than eighth
notes in Allegretto scherzando. Each part includes two to seven simple double stops.
12
Ensemble Characteristics: One line moves at a time, sometimes doubled at the octave. The first
violin part has the melody for all but three measures.
Stylistic Characteristics: Dvořák designed this Gavotte for students, in an unchromatic G minor
with the Trio in the relative major.
Hermann, Friedrich (1828-1907). Burlesque, Op. 9, for Three Violins.
Also Listed As: Burlesque pour 3 violons, composée et dediée à Fréderic, Sophie & Victor
Raczek. (Fr. Kistner)
Year of Composition: First published c. 1900.
Length: One movement with eight separate tempo sections, 159 measures long (three pages in
each part).
Publisher(s): New York: International Music Company, 1944, and New York: Kalmus, year
unknown. (http://www.kalmus-music.com/default.htm) Also published by Leipzig: Fr.
Kistner, possibly 1900. This latter edition is only listed by two libraries in WorldCat.
This piece is out of print.
Availability: Listed by thirty-three libraries in WorldCat. WorldCat searches for musical scores
involving “Friedrich Hermann” return many Hermann arrangements and few of his own
compositions.
Technical Difficulties: Flashy technique abounds in this piece. The first violin part reaches G7,
the second violin reaches D7 on the E string and also G5 on the G-string, and the third
violin reaches G7 on the E-string and C5 on the G-string. Hermann writes Allegro vivace
and Presto sixteenth notes, and dotted sixteenth notes with thirty-second notes in
Moderato assai. Every part includes frequent double-stopping, including one sixteenthnote run of ascending thirds apiece. Hermann writes the middle Andante section entirely
in fifth- and fourth-interval artificial harmonics. He writes both on- and off-the-string
bowings, including up-bow staccato in two sections and pizzicato in the second and
fourth sections.
Ensemble Characteristics: The first violin part has the melody, and the three violins either play
the same rhythm or take turns showing off. Hermann writes no complicated contrasting
rhythmic ideas. The Burlesque is a flashy technical piece for three violins, not a
13
musically complicated piece of chamber music.
Stylistic Characteristics: Written over simple G major harmonies, this Burlesque is based on the
popular tune “Have you ever seen a lassie...” in a typical virtuoso style of the late 19th
and early 20th century.
Toch, Ernst (1887-1964). Serenade for Three Violins, Op. 20.
Year of Composition: Published in 1912.
Length: Three movements, Allegro non troppo (159 measures in 4/4 at m.m. 144-152), Andante
(176 measures in 3/4 ranging from m.m.69 to Allegro), and Vivo (196 measures in 6/8 at
m.m. 88).
Publisher(s): Los Angeles: Affiliated Musicians, Inc., 1954. Also published by Leipzig: J.
Weinberger, 1912. There is a Josef Weinberger Ltd. (http://www.josef-weinberger.com/),
but it does not have Toch‟s Serenade.
Availability: Listed by thirty-seven libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The three violin parts reach C7, A6, and F6 respectively. The third
movement includes a few thirty-second note scales at dotted quarter note = m.m. 88, but
otherwise the melodic speed remains moderate and steady. Toch writes more scales than
arpeggios. He also writes some double-sharps and changing accidentals, but places them
logically and idiomatically. All three parts include occasional simple chords and doublestops of moderate difficulty. Toch writes almost the whole piece on the string and heavily
slurred. The third movement contains several brief instances of pizzicato, but Toch
requests no other alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: All parts share moving lines, but the melody lies predominantly in the
first part. Most of the third violin‟s rare melodic material comes from terraced entrances.
Toch writes one or two distinct rhythmic ideas of moderate complexity at each time. The
meter is clear, but Toch occasionally begins a run one sixteenth note before or after a
beat.
Stylistic Characteristics: Toch wrote this clearly tonal piece is in a mid- to late-Romantic style.
He uses many accidentals and modulates in thirds as well as fifths quite freely.
14
Egk, Werner (1901-1983). Allegro for Three Violins.
Also Listed As: Allegro für 3 Violinen. Typing the English name into WorldCat only retrieves
some of the entries.
Year of Composition: 1923.
Length: Eighty-five measures, including a twenty-one measure D.C.
Publisher(s): Mainz: Schott Musik International, 2001. (http://www.schott-music.com/) In print
as Allegro, order number VLB 101.
Availability: Listed by fifty-eight libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This virtuosic piece requires many rapid shifts and octaves. The first two
parts reach B-flat6 while the third violin reaches G6, with all three highest notes in
difficult circumstances. The third violin reaches its highest note after a fast shift of
several positions, while the first two violins play their highest notes as the upper notes in
double-stop or chordal sixths, following rests, and descend in chromatic scales. The first
violin‟s downward chromatic scale is also in double-stop sixths. The next highest A-flats
in the first two violin parts appear in unison, marked pp and ppp respectively, following
quarter rests in which they shift from first position on the G string. Immediately before
the D.C. al Coda, all three violins play simultaneous soft, long double-stops, octaves in
the upper two and a fourth in the third. Pizzicato appears twice in the first violin part and
once in the second. Egk writes two pizzicato eighth-note octaves on the A- and Estrings, once in third position and twice in sixth, followed by a three-note chord on the
lower two strings in first position, then repeats the figure. He requires no other alternate
right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: The fugal primary section provides plenty of rhythmic and melodic
variety to each part, and good ensemble requires leadership from both the first and
second violins. Egk writes straightforward rhythms. Triplets and larger “-tuplets” only
occur in one descending run in the first violin, while the second violin rests and the third
violin holds a trill. Dotted notes appear only in the middle section, either unison between
all three parts or set against two rests.
Stylistic Characteristics: The Allegro is in C, but shows an early 20th-century reluctance towards
tonal structure. Its main fugal section has a near-constant tonic presence, and the middle
15
section weakly emphasizes the dominant. Egk strengthens the final authentic cadence in
the Coda by tonally weakening the ends of the fugal and middle sections. He concludes
the fugal section with a secondary dominant preparing the implied D chord at the
beginning of the middle section, and the middle section with a simultaneity designed for
acoustical impact rather than harmonic function.
Quartets with Three Violins
Telemann, Georg Philipp (1681-1767). Sonata for Three Violins and Basso continuo.
Also Listed As: Sonate für drei Violinen und Basso continuo, and TWV 51:B2. However, the
English translation works adequately in WorldCat.
Year of Composition: Circa 1708-1714.
Instrumentation: Three Violins and Basso Continuo.
Length: Four movements, twenty-one, sixty-six, fourteen, and sixty-five measures long
respectively.
Publisher(s): New York: Barenreiter, ed. Adolf Hoffman, 1952. This edition includes a
violoncello part which may replace the basso continuo, and appears out of print.
(http://www.Barenreiter.com/)
Availability: Listed by thirty-one libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: All three violins stay in first position, but differ significantly in melodic
motion. In the fourth and final Allegro, the first violin repeatedly plays neighbor-tone
passages in sixteenth and thirty-second notes based off an eighth-note scale, while the
second part plays occasional sixteenth-note passages in unison with the first part, and the
third part‟s longest moving sixteenth-note line lasts six notes, in unison with the second
part. Telemann writes no pizzicato or alternate right-hand techniques, and the Barenreiter
edition includes no articulation marks. The Barenreiter edition includes a violoncello
arrangement of the basso continuo with comparable speed and virtuosity to the second
violin part, and a number of dotted eighth notes followed by pairs of thirty-second notes
in Allegro.
Ensemble Characteristics: This work is included as an example and is not recommended.
16
Telemann‟s works appear in database searches of works for multiple violins, but in this
piece, he writes much unison work between the violins. This lack of independence
between parts makes most of his works poor choices for serious chamber music.
Telemann writes a variety of rhythms, including dotted eighth notes followed by pairs of
thirty-second notes, but the different rhythm patterns interact little. If one uses a
Telemann string chamber work including three or more violins, the four-violin concerto,
TWV 40:202, is a much better choice.
Stylistic Characteristics: This Baroque work of low complexity is best suited for less advanced
students of uneven technical ability.
Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790). String Quartet.
Also Listed As: Quatuor pour trois violins et violoncelle (O. Lieutier).
Year of Composition: 1777-1785. Written by the same Benjamin Franklin who invented the
lightning rod, during his diplomatic stay in France.
Instrumentation: Three Violins and Violoncello, or String Quartet
Length: Five short movements, one or two score pages each.
Publisher(s): Paris: O. Lieutier, ed. Guilliame de Van, 1946. Also published by San Diego: Nick
Stamon Press, 1987, and by ed. John Kirkpatrick, New York: (unknown press), ed. John
Kirkpatrick, 1958. All three editions contain parts for normal tuning, and the New York
and Lieutier editions include scordatura (modified tuning) scores.
Availability: Listed by 153 libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This work, designed for amateurs, may be played either in first position
with normal tuning, or entirely on scordatura open strings. It contains no significant
technical difficulties. The Vidulich arrangement, in G major, implies an extreme
scordatura with the first violin‟s G string tuned up a fifth and no strings lower than
normal pitch, although Grenander writes that five of seven manuscripts extant lie a whole
tone lower, in F Major16. If performers wish to use the original scordatura rather than
fingering the notes, they should transpose this piece down at least a fourth to avoid
16
M. E. Grenander, "Reflections on the String Quartet(s) Attributed to Franklin," American Quarterly 27, no. 1
(Mar., 1975), 83.
17
breaking the first violinist‟s G string.
Ensemble Characteristics: Each part moves slowly and only uses four pitches, but Franklin at
least staggers the rhythmic motion between parts to keep some level of constant motion.
Franklin writes measure-long rests in single parts that provide brief three-part harmony,
and many shorter rests, but no solo or duet passages.
Stylistic Characteristics: Franklin‟s scordatura, D4/A4/D5/G5 in the first violin, C4/G4/C5/F#5
in the second violin, B3/F#4/B4/E4 in the third violin, and C2/G2/D3/A3 in the
violoncello, allows Franklin to write tonic and dominant harmonies in G Major with only
four notes per part. However, at each harmonic change, these sixteen notes sharply limit
the different inversions available to each chord, and force each individual part to move in
fourths, sevenths, and octaves. This limited selection forbids modulation and forces
constant leaps in voice-leading, lending this work a hollow sound.
DeLamarter, Eric (1880-1953). Foursome for Three Violins and Viola.
Year of Composition: Published in 1948.
Instrumentation: Three Violins and Viola
Length: 147 measures of 2/4 at m.m. 88.
Publisher(s): New York: Mills Music Inc., 1948. Mills now exists as a division of EMI, but
EMI‟s website (http://www.emimusicpub.com/worldwide/index.html) does not include
DeLamarter‟s Foursome.
Availability: Listed by four libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This first-position work is stratified in pitch, with the violins reaching B5,
B-flat5, and E5, and the viola reaching C5. It moves as fast as sixteenth notes at quarternote m.m. = 88, and includes a moderate number of accidentals, most of which lie well
for the violin and viola. DeLemarter writes several pizzicato quarter and slower notes,
and a few accents and dots, but heavily slurs this piece .
Ensemble Characteristics: DeLamarter writes largely independent but simple rhythms, and in
many measures, no two parts play the same rhythmic pattern. Every part has some
rhythmic and melodic interest. The difficulty level is low.
Stylistic Characteristics: This piece has C as its tonal center, although it avoids traditional
18
functional harmony.
Violin Quartets
Telemann, Georg Philipp (1681-1767). Concerto for four violins without basso continuo.
Also Listed As: TWV 40:202. Concerto no. 3 in D for four violins (unaccompanied)
(Musicland), Concerto in D major for four violins (International). Appears as part of Two
Concerti for 4 Violins (Musica Rara).
Year of Composition: Telemann lived from 1681 to 1747.
Length: Three movements, lasting thirty-three, thirty-three, and forty-two measures respectively
without repeats.
Publisher(s): New York: Barenreiter, ed. Hans Engel, 1930 (http://www.barenreiter.com/,
HM20), London: Musica Rara, 1935, New York: International Music Co., 1950,
Winterthur: Amadeus, ed. Bernhard Pauler, 1986 (http://www.amadeusmusic.ch/, BP
0446), Gloucester: Musicland, 1998. Scores and parts.
Availability: Listed by 289 libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The first two parts reach D6, and the other two stay in first position,
reaching to B5. Every part includes idiomatic sixteenth-note passages in Allegro, built on
repeated patterns. Telemann requires no pizzicato or alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: As one would expect from a Baroque work, Telemann uses many
terraced entrances, with a sixteenth-note motor rhythm in the first movement and regular
melodic passages in all parts. Telemann writes dotted half notes but no other dotted
notes, and his only crossed rhythms between parts appear in the second Grave, crossing
in quarter notes but no faster. In contrast to the Sonata for three violins and basso
continuo, TWV 51:B2 discussed earlier, the parts here are imitative rather than in unison,
and this piece is recommended for less advanced students.
Stylistic Characteristics: This Baroque three-movement work in D Major is harmonically typical
for its period.
19
Lachner, Ignaz (1807-1895). Quartet for Four Violins, Op. 107.
Also Listed As: Quartett für vier Violinen, Op. 107. The Wollenweber edition only appears in
WorldCat searches if the name is typed in German, while the Amadeus appears in either
English or German searches.
Year of Composition: Lachner‟s Op. 108 was published in 1895, the year of his death. This
Quartet should almost certainly be no earlier than 1893.
Length: Four movements, Allegro moderato (142 measures of 4/4 plus a fifty-two measure first
ending), Andante (fifty-nine measures of 6/8), Allegro giocoso (116 measures of 3/4 plus
two first endings of twenty-three and twenty-four measures), and Allegro vivo, ma non
troppo (168 measures of 2/4).
Publisher(s): München-Gräfelfing : W. Wollenweber, 1988, ed. W. Sawodny. Also published by
Winterthur, Schweiz : Amadeus, 2000, ed. Bernhard Päuler.
(http://www.amadeusmusic.ch/, BP1044.)
Availability: Listed by fifty-two libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The four violins differ markedly in register, reaching E6, D6, G5, and E5
respectively. Lachner writes passages of sixteenth notes in the Allegro Moderato
movement and of thirty-second notes in the Andante movement. The runs include some
slightly awkward chromaticism in the first violin part. Each part includes occasional
double stops and chords, and both on- and off-the-string bow strokes. Lachner writes no
alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: Lachner writes straightforward but well-varied rhythms, including
occasional dotted notes and sixteenth-note triplets, but no syncopation. The first violin
keeps the melodic lead throughout, but the accompanying parts maintain motion and
interest. Cues lie predominantly in the first violin part.
Stylistic Characteristics: Lachner‟s style is fairly typical for the Romantic era.
Schaeffer, Boguslaw (1929-). Concerto for Four Violins.
Also Listed As: Konzert für Vier Violinen. The English translation returns no results in a
WorldCat search.
Year of Composition: 1948.
20
Length: The score marks the initial Allegro molto “1'20"-1'36"”, the middle Andante “3'25"3"40"”, and the final Furioso ed arditamente “1'50"-2'15"”, with total duration of “6'45"7'40"”.
Publisher(s): Wien: Ariadne, 1984. No known website.
Other notes: http://www.mica.at/composerdb/details/musicalwork/musicalwork29996EN.asp
listed the date as 1948 and publisher as Ariadne, but also listed the length as 9:30.
Availability: Listed by twenty-four libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This work includes some particularly difficult chromatic double stops.
Every part includes major sevenths, minor ninths, and, the most difficult for intonation,
passages of fifths that shift chromatically. Throughout the second movement, the first
violin plays slow, but high and difficult octave passages while all three of the other parts
play two simultaneous melodic lines apiece, which often require very awkward finger
placement and shifts. Any players who can handle the double-stopping can also handle
the highest and fastest passages in the piece. The first violin reaches D7, while the other
parts only reach F6, and the fastest notes are idiomatic sixteenth-note passages in the
third movement at dotted quarter m.m. 120-144. Other than a few instances of sul
ponticello in the third movement, Schaeffer writes no alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: Schaeffer often writes polyrhythms of four or eight against three. He
frequently writes imitative canon at the unison in the first movement, sometimes with
variation. His imitation in the later movements occurs at a variety of intervals, and
distributes the dominant line through all four parts. Rhythms often vary between the
parts to the point where players cannot follow each other with musical instincts alone.
Stylistic Characteristics: This 20th-century atonal work includes extreme dynamics and some
slightly unusual markings, such as exclamation marks after dynamics and the use of
“c.s.” for con sordino. It requires four technically able and rhythmically stable players.
Bacewicz, Grażyna (1909-1969). Quartet for Four Violins.
Also Listed As: Kwartet na 4 skrzypiec, Quartetto per 4 violini. The English translation returns
only a few results in WorldCat.
Year of Composition: 1949.
21
Length: Three movements. “Ca 12'” listed on score.
Publisher(s): Krakow: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne. (http://www.pwm.com.pl/) In print as
Kwartet na 4 skrzypiec, catalog no. 6526.
Availability: Listed by eighty-three libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The four violin parts have similar highest notes of A6, F6, F6, and G6
respectively, lightly stratified in tessitura. Accidentals lie well for the violin. Bacewicz
slurs almost all her runs and arpeggios, some of which require shifts at a moderate pace.
Her bowings include both on- and off-the-string strokes. Every part includes occasional
double-stops, mostly octaves or including an open string, and usually prepared by rests.
Bacewicz writes one passage of pizzicato eighth notes apiece in the first and third
movements, and one passage of ponticello bowing in the first movement.
Ensemble Characteristics: Bacewicz maintains rhythmic variation without excessive complexity.
She juxtaposes at most two moving rhythmic ideas, which contrast within each beat while
agreeing on those beats‟ locations. She writes short runs of triplets and longer “-tuplets,”
and contrasts duple and triple divisions of 6/8 between measures, but writes no other
syncopation. Every part includes moving lines and opportunities to cue entrances.
Stylistic Characteristics: Bacewicz uses 20th-century harmonies, including parallel voice-leading
at the fourth, fifth, and octave. She does not use the harmonically prepared dominants
that characterize common-practice tonality. Instead, she uses the tonal center of D in the
first two movements and G in the third, and her other harmonies prepare those center
notes rather than preparing each other.
Lutosławski, Witold (1913-1994). Four Silesian Melodies: for Four Violins.
Year of Composition: 1954.
Length: Four movements, totaling five minutes. (Duration taken from
http://www.chesternovello.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2432&State_3041=2&workId_3041
=11958)
Publisher(s): London : Chester Music, 1990 (http://www.chesternovello.com/, but sold through
www.musicroom.com as Catalogue # CH55994), and Kraków : Polskie Wydawnictwo
Muzyczne, 1977, ©1955 (http://www.pwm.com.pl/), both ed. Irena Dubiska. PWM
22
Catalog no. 5857.
Availability: Listed by sixty-three libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: Lutosławski designed this first-position work for less advanced students.
The accompaniments are chromatic, but move in patterns at an easy pace, never
exceeding eighth notes in the fastest Allegro vivace movement. The last of the four
melodies includes simple repeated double-stops, all involving open strings. Lutosławski
uses a variety of articulations, but no alternate right-hand techniques.
Ensemble Characteristics: Lutosławski writes as many as three simultaneous rhythms in a given
bar, but they never conflict more than syncopated eighths against quarter notes. In the
second movement, Lutosławski periodically introduces a canonic pattern of staccato
eighth notes, but otherwise he writes homophonic textures with the melody evenly
distributed between the parts.
Stylistic Characteristics: Lutosławski adds dissonant and chromatic harmonies to simple folk
melodies.
Reich, Steve (1936-). Violin Phase.
Year of Composition: 1967.
Instrumentation: Four Violins, or Violin and Tape
Publisher(s): London/New York: Universal Edition, 1979.
(http://www.universaledition.com/noflash_en.php) Order number UE16185.
Availability: Listed by 180 libraries in WorldCat.
Ensemble Characteristics: This work is a poor choice for teaching chamber music, as the parts
do not interact in traditional ways. The individual parts present little technical challenge,
but they slowly move out of and into phase from each other. This movement out of phase
provides an immense rhythmic challenge, likely to frustrate student groups.
Stylistic Characteristics: In contrast to the ensemble challenge, this work has no focus on
harmonic progression or on dynamic balance between melody and harmony. While
students might improve their counting skills by studying this piece, they have no
opportunity to improve their group intonation across harmonic changes or their dynamic
balance between melody and harmony.
23
Makris, Andreas (1930-2005). Scherzo for Four Violins.
Year of Composition: Published in 1975.
Length: 274 measures of 3/8, with no tempo marking.
Publisher(s): Silver Spring: Mediterranean Press, 1975. No website found for Mediterranean
Press, but the Andreas Makris Endowment at the National Philharmonic has a website at
http://www.andreasmakris.com/ which rents out his music for performance.
Availability: Listed by sixty-one libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: The parts are strongly stratified in pitch, reaching G6, D6, A5, and B-flat5
(the last on the A string) respectively. Makris writes some accidentals that force shifts
while playing sixteenth notes in an unspecified tempo, but prepares almost all of these
with rests. He uses occasional idiomatic double-stops, and a large number of repeated
notes, but writes no articulation markings.
Ensemble Characteristics: Every rhythm either subdivides into or is a subdivision of eighth
notes. Makris uses terraced entrances to give some prominence to the lower parts. As a
result, all parts are audible at some point, and good ensemble is easy.
Stylistic Characteristics: Makris uses G as a clear pitch center, with at least one section centered
on D, but writes no key signature. He bases the Scherzo on motives that appear in exact
transposition, further weakening any appearance of strict tonality.
String Quintets with Three or Four Violins
Scheidt, Samuel (1587-1654). Canzon super Intradam Aechiopicam für Funf Stimmen.
English Translation: Canzon for Five Voices. The “super Intradam Aechiopicam” part probably
refers to imitative entrances.
Year of Composition: Scheidt lived from 1587 to 1654.
Instrumentation: Three Violins, Viola, and Violoncello.
Length: 196 measures, in 4, with no listed tempo.
Publisher(s): Kassel: Barenreiter, 1956 (www.Barenreiter.com/, out of print), and Miami:
Kalmus, 1980 (http://www.kalmus-music.com/, A7115.) Both edited by Heiner Garff.
Listed as a string orchestra work.
24
Availability: Listed by 173 libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: Each part stays in first position, moving mostly in quarter notes and eighth
notes with occasional short groups of sixteenth notes. Scheidt writes the occasional F
sharp or C sharp, but no other accidentals relative to the key of C Major. The score
includes no bowing markings, double-stops or pizzicato.
Ensemble Characteristics: This contrapuntal piece distributes simple rhythmic and melodic ideas
throughout the parts. Scheidt writes only a few dotted notes and syncopations at the
eighth-note level. He sets sixteenth notes against either other sixteenths or simple
quarter- and half-note lines.
Stylistic Characteristics: Scheidt lived at the beginning of the Baroque era. The work begins
with an almost fully evolved fuguelike section, and contains points of imitation
throughout.
Vivaldi, Antonio (1678-1741). Concerto in F Major for Four Violins, Violoncello and String
Orchestra, Op. 3 No. 7.
Also Listed As: Concerto IX, F-dur, für 4 Soloviolinen und Streichorchester mit Generalbass
(Barenreiter, 1954), Concerto IX [i.e. 7] F-dur : "L'estro armonico," op. 3 (Barenreiter,
1968), Concerto, in fa maggiore per 4 violini, violoncello, archi e cembalo, F. IV, no. 9
(Ricordi). “The London reprints by Walsh and Hare," the references for these older
editions, refer to this concerto as number 9 rather than 7.
Year of Composition: 1711.
Instrumentation: Four Violins, Violoncello, and String Orchestra. Also listed in WorldCat as
chamber music for Four Violins and Violoncello.
Length: Five movements, seventy-two, twelve, seventy-five, five, and seventy-three measures
respectively.
Publisher(s): Scores and parts both appear in Kassel: Barenreiter, ed. Walter Upmeyer, 1954,
1968 (Listed with different titles depending on year, due to the confusion generated by
Walsh and Hare.), and Milan: Ricordi, ed. Gian Francesco Malipiero, 1965. New York:
Edition Eulenburg, ed. Rudolf Eller, 1969, and Leipzig, Peters Ed., 1973 are score only.
Availability: Listed by 143 libraries in WorldCat, plus 688 listings of the entire L‟Estro Armonico
25
opus.
Technical Difficulties: The four violin parts present fairly equal technical difficulties. The
second and third parts reach the highest note, D6, while the first and fourth parts only
reach C6. All four parts play idiomatic sixteenth-note passages in an Allegro tempo, and
they all require at least third position. Vivaldi requires no pizzicato or alternate bowing
techniques, but he slurs some sixteenth-note passages in repeated patterns of three down
and one up.
Ensemble Characteristics: The concertos of “L‟Estro Armonico” appear in database searches for
chamber music, and generally suffer less from the omission of the accompanying parts
than Telemann‟s Sonate für drei Violinen und Basso continuo. However, concerti still
have clear solo and ritornello passages, and some chord tones appear only in the
orchestral violas, such as the fifth of the F Major chord in bar 43 of the first movement.
Vivaldi writes more independent solo violin parts than found in the Telemann Sonate,
avoiding extended four-part unisons. All four violin parts include sixteenth-note melodic
passages, while the violoncello part usually accompanies in slower figures. Crossed
rhythms occur only at the quarter-note level and slower, and always due to ties. This
work is usable but not recommended as chamber music, since the parts often alternate
solos or play together orchestrally rather than interact as different chamber parts.
Stylistic Characteristics: This is a Baroque work with the expected terraced entrances, interlaced
motor rhythms between accompanying parts, and occasional long rests.
Aumann, Franz (1728-1797). Partita in G Major for Four Violins and Violoncello.
Also Listed As: Partita G-Dur für 4 violinen und violoncello. WorldCat returns almost all results
when presented with the English translation.
Year of Composition: Aumann lived from 1728 to 1797.
Instrumentation: Four Violins and Violoncello
Length: Five movements, lasting twenty-eight, twenty-two, twenty-seven, eighteen, and forty
measures respectively, and all repeated.
Publisher(s): Wien: Doblinger, 1995, ed. Werner Rainer. (http://www.doblingermusikverlag.at/index_en.php, DM 1232.)
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Availability: Listed by sixty-eight libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This is a “joke” piece for scordatura open strings (some tuned up and
others down), and not for serious study. Rainer points out the performance instructions at
the beginning of the two extant manuscript copies, including “First, the cello is tuned
almost more than a whole tone lower than normal concert pitch, then each of the four
violins is tuned - and purely - to its scordatura.” A third violinist who does not follow
this direction will tune their D string up a perfect fourth, probably breaking it. As this
piece involves no fingerings, technical difficulties consist entirely of string crossings,
which all parts perform at sixteenth notes in Allegro non molto. Aumann requires no
pizzicato or alternate right-hand techniques. In Rainer‟s discussion of the performance
instructions, he also mentions their suggestions for the location of the left hand, which,
along with the open strings, confirms the “joke” purpose of this piece.
Ensemble Characteristics: Aumann distributes simple, repetitive rhythmic patterns imitatively
between the parts, including a syncopated eighth-quarter-eighth pattern in the final
Presto. He writes no cross-rhythms between parts, and all parts share the “melody.”
Stylistic Characteristics: Despite the joke, this piece ends sections with perfectly logical half and
authentic cadences. The second violin, tuned in the dominant, ends the first half of each
movement, while the first violin, tuned in the tonic, ends the final section. Aumann
facilitates harmonic development by retuning the four violins so that their open strings
form respectively the I, V, V7/V, and IV-6-4 chords.
Zimmermann, Anton (1741-1781). Twelve Quintets.
Also Listed As: XII Quintetti. WorldCat returns no results when presented with the English
translation.
Year of Composition: Zimmermann lived from 1741 to 1781.
Instrumentation: Three Violins, Viola, and Violoncello
Length: Twelve quintets with three movements each.
Publisher(s): Budapest: Musicalia Danubiana. (http://www.zti.hu/publicat/Danub.htm) Catalog
no. 15. Edited by János Mezei. This is a research rather than a performance edition, in
score only.
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Availability: Listed by forty-four libraries in WorldCat. However, this edition is score only.
Technical Difficulties: The violins reach A6, G6, and B-flat5, the viola reaches G5, and the cello
reaches A5. The highest second violin and viola notes appear during solos, and do not
represent normal ranges for those parts. Zimmermann writes short sixteenth-note
passages and occasional figures of one dotted eighth note and two thirty-second notes in
the Allegro movements, with denser figures in slower tempi. Only the first violin shifts
frequently during fast passages, and Zimmermann‟s virtuosic passages are idiomatic.
Zimmermann (and, when necessary for consistency, Mezei) writes many staccato dots,
wedges, and sforzandos, and requests pizzicato in the middle Andante movement of the
fifth quintet.
Ensemble Characteristics: All parts include varied rhythms. These include occasional rhythmic
imitation delayed by an eighth note, simple eighth-note syncopated figures, and
sixteenth-note scales and arpeggios beginning on the second sixteenth note of a measure.
As expected from Enlightenment-era works, Zimmermann writes no hemiolas or other
metrical dissonances between the parts. The first violin part is fairly dominant, while the
"Basso part" remains the most static in pitch by a noticeable margin .
Stylistic Characteristics: Mezei's comments include a wealth of information about the Quintets'
style. These Enlightenment pieces tonicize the dominant, subdominant and relative
major.
Loeffler, Charles Martin (1861-1935). Quintet (1894).
Year of Composition: 1894.
Instrumentation: Three Violins, Viola, and Violoncello.
Length: 225 measures of 4/4 in Allegro commodo.
Publisher(s): G. Schirmer, 1930. (http://www.schirmer.com/, but out of print.)
Availability: Listed by 112 libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: This piece requires a first violinist who is very comfortable with shifting
and high positions, since Loeffler spaces the three violin parts in pitch by giving the first
violin a very high tessitura. The three violins reach C7, F6, and D6 respectively, the viola
reaches E-flat5, and the cello reaches A5. Loeffler writes scales and arpeggios in the first
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violin that require fast shifts in both directions, but in the other parts he keeps fast
passages in lower positions. While Loeffler requires no pizzicato or alternate right-hand
techniques, he writes frequent double-stops of moderate difficulty, and writes some offthe-string bow strokes.
Ensemble Characteristics: Loeffler uses both duple and triple rhythms, and occasionally sets
them against each other in the accompanying parts. Each part plays at least occasional
melodies (bracketed in the Schirmer score).
Stylistic Characteristics: This late-Romantic work has many dynamic and expressive markings.
It looks and sounds Brahmsian.
Feldman, Morton (1926-1987). Violin and String Quartet.
Year of Composition: Published in 1985.
Instrumentation: Three Violins, Viola, and Violoncello
Length: Very long and slow. Universal Edition‟s webpage lists the duration as ninety minutes
(http://www.universaledition.com/truman/en_templates/en_werkinfo.php3?werk=&werk=5671).
Publisher(s): London: Universal Edition, 1985.
(http://www.universaledition.com/noflash_en.php) Order number UE 17968.
Availability: Listed by thirty-eight libraries in WorldCat.
Technical Difficulties: Feldman writes fingered harmonics and double-stops, but at a very slow
tempo. This tempo allows plenty of time to search for pitches before sounding them.
Players capable of coordinating the ensemble should have no difficulty with the
technique.
Ensemble Difficulties: The first violin plays quarter- and half-note triplets and quintuplets against
duple rhythms in the string quartet. Each part looks simple and boring alone, but
coordinating the cross-rhythms between parts provides a challenge. Performers may
prefer to read from scores.
Stylistic Characteristics: Students can immediately notice two characteristics of this piece, its
atonality and its rhythmic difficulties. If they choose to pay attention and learn, they can
gain something by studying this work, but some students dismiss works of this nature as
too “modern.” Also, it requires different ensemble and interpretive skills than those used
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in a string quartet from Haydn to Shostakovich. Pieces with cross-rhythms of this
complexity may require players to temporarily stop listening to each other in order to
preserve their own rhythm, while common-practice era chamber music typically requires
players to keep listening to each other in order to coordinate their rhythms and intonation.
Conclusion
String chamber works including three or more violins have a limited repertoire, due to
spacing problems between three treble instruments and balance issues between treble and bass.
Furthermore, those string chamber works written for three or more violins tend to be written by
lesser-known composers, of variable quality, and less widely published. Their rarity makes it
likely that a given college or university library may not contain an appropriate work for a
particular student string ensemble including three or more violins. However, since the typical
violin school contains more violin students than lower string students, a coach or chamber music
coordinator may find these works very useful.
The twenty-three listings in this treatise provide the necessary information for a coach or
chamber music coordinator to select only those works likely to be appropriate for their students,
and find copies of these works as quickly as possible. This allows readers to save time and
money by acquiring only those works which interest them.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Articles and Reference Works
Bachmann, Alberto. An Encyclopedia of the Violin. Edited by Albert E. Wier. New York: Da
Capo Press, 1966.
Baldasarre, Antonio, Eisen, Cliff, and Griffiths, Paul. “String Quartet.” In Grove Music Online.
Edited by L. Macy. http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Baron, John H. Chamber Music: A Research and Information Guide. New York: Garland
Publishing, Inc., 1987.
Bashford, Christina. “Chamber Music.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Boyden, David et al. “Violin.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Eisen, Cliff. “String Quintet.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Farish, Margaret K. String Music in Print, 2nd ed. New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1973.
Farish, Margaret K. String Music in Print; 1984 Supplement. Philadelphia: Musicdata Inc.,
1984.
Grenander, M. E. "Reflections on the String Quartet(s) Attributed to Franklin." American
Quarterly 27, no. 1 (March 1975): 73-87.
Magsen, Sandra. “Trio Sonata.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Monosoff, Sonya. Review of The Index of Violin Music (Strings), 1973 Supplement to The Index
of Violin Music, and The Index of Violin Music (Winds), Including The Index of Baroque
Trio Sonatas, by Wayne Wilkins, in Notes, 2nd Series 31, no. 1 (September 1974): 59-60.
Schwandt, Eric. “Trio.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy. http://grovemusic.com
(Accessed 3/21/08).
Schwarz, Boris. Review of String Music in Print, 2nd ed., by Margaret K. Farish, in Notes, 2nd
Series 31, no. 1 (September 1974): 60-61.
31
Tilmouth, Michael. “Quartet.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Tilmouth, Michael. “Quintet.” In Grove Music Online. Edited by L. Macy.
http://grovemusic.com (Accessed 3/21/08).
Waln, George E, chairman. Materials for Miscellaneous Instrumental Ensembles. Prepared by
the Committee on Literature and Interpretation of Music for Instrumental Ensembles,
Music Educators National Conference. Washington: MENC, 1960.
Watson, Arthur J. “String Chamber Music: The Lesser Combinations.” Music and Letters 10,
no. 3 (July 1929): 292-98.
Wilkins, Wayne, ed. The Index of Violin Music. Magnolia: The Music Register, 1973.
Wilkins, Wayne, ed. 1973 Supplement to Index of Violin Music. Magnolia: The Music Register,
1973.
Wilkins, Wayne, ed. 1975 Supplement to The Index of Violin Music. Magnolia: The Music
Register, 1975.
Wilkins, Wayne, ed. 1966-1977 Supplement to The Index of Violin Music. Magnolia: The Music
Register, 1977.
Scores and Parts Consulted
Aumann, Franz. Partita G-Dur für 4 violinen und violoncello. Wien: Doblinger, 1995.
Bacewicz, Grażyna. Quartetto per 4 violini. Krakow: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, 1950.
DeLamarter, Eric. Foursome; For 3 Violins and Viola. New York: Mills Music Inc., 1948.
Dvořák, Antonín. Drobnosti : Op. 75A, Violino I, Violino II e Viola; Gavota: Tre Violini.
Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1985.
Egk, Werner. Allegro für 3 Violinen. Mainz: Schott Musik International, 2001.
Feldman, Morton. Violin and String Quartet. London: Universal Edition, 1985.
Franklin, Benjamin. String Quartet. Arranged for normal tuning by Michael Vidulich. San
Diego: Nick Stamon Press, 1987.
Fux, Johann Josef. Sonata in F Major; Three violins. Edited by Brian Clark. Huntingdon:
King‟s Music Gmc, 1991.
32
Hermann, Friedrich. Burlesque, Op. 9, for Three Violins. New York: International Music
Company, 1944.
Hook, James. 6 Trios Op. 83 fur 3 Querflöten oder 3 Violinen oder Querflöte, Violine, Viola.
Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen‟s Verlag, 1985.
Lachner, Ignaz. Quartett für Vier Violinen, Op. 107. München: Verlag Walter Wollenweber,
1988.
Loeffler, Charles Martin. Quintet (1894). Edited by Adolfo Betti. New York: G. Schirmer,
1938.
Lutosławski, Witold. Four Silesian Melodies: for Four Violins. Edited by Irena Dubiska.
London: Chester Music, 1990.
Makris, Andreas. Scherzo for Four Violins. Silver Spring: Mediterranean Press, 1975.
Quantz, Johann Joachim. Sonate für drei Flöten (Violinen oder andere Instrumente) ohne Baß.
Edited by Erich Doflein. London: Barenreiter, 1964.
Reich, Steve. Violin Phase. London: Universal Edition, 1979.
Schaeffer, Boguslaw. Konzert für Vier Violinen. Wien: Ariadne, 1984.
Scheidt, Samuel. Canzon super Intradam Aechiopicam für Funf Stimmen. Edited by Heiner
Garff. Kassel: Barenreiter, 1956.
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Concerto; A Major for Four Violins, Strings and Basso Continuo.
Kross 4V. A. Edited by Ian Payne. Hereford: Severinus Press, 1996.
Telemann, Georg Philipp. Sonate für drei Violinen und Basso continuo. Edited by Adolf
Hoffmann. London: Barenreiter, 1963.
Toch, Ernst. Serenade for Three Violins, Op. 20. Los Angeles: Affiliated Musicians, Inc., 1954.
Vivaldi, Antonio. Concerto; F Major for 4 Violins, Violoncello and String Orchestra, Op. 3 No.
7. Edited by Rudolf Eller. New York: Eulenburg, 1978.
Zimmermann, Anton. XII Quintetti. Edited by János Mezei. Budapest: Musicalia Danubiana,
1996.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Born July 13, 1983 in Potsdam, NY, Galen Kaup began his violin studies at the age of
two, after asking his mother for “a little violin.” Homeschooled throughout grade school, he
matriculated at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam at the age of 13, studying with
John Lindsey and receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance in Spring 2001.
He simultaneously earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Clarkson
University. He continued his studies at Indiana University, studying with Ilya Kaler, and earning
Master of Music in Violin and Master of Arts in Mathematics degrees in Spring 2003. During
the 2003-04 season, he played section violin in the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and
completed the research for a December 2005 paper in the Journal of Operational Research. He
returned to his violin studies in Fall 2004 at Florida State University with greater dedication to
orchestral preparation, studying with Eliot Chapo. He maintains an active performance schedule
in music, and also performs mathematical research for DJ Kaup, Inc.
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