QUARTET (It. guartetto, from Marto, Lat. quartos, fourth, from quattuor, four). A con certed composition for four voices or instruments, in which all the parts are real, i.e. no one can be omitted without injuring the proper effect of the whole. As early as the fifteenth century four part writing had been recognized as the kind most suitable for combining harmonic fullness and clearness with ease of execution. Since then it has been regarded as the groundwork of all composition. During the seventeenth century, however, the tendency was toward the employ ment of large masses in double and triple choruses (Schools of Rome and Venice. See Music, ScuooLs OF COMPOSITION.) But during the eighteenth century the development of the string quartet led to a return to four-part writ ing. In the nineteenth century Mendelssohn and Schumann did much to popularize the male quartet. One of the highest. forms of mod ern music is that written for the string quartet, which consists of two violins, viola, and cello. Although this combination of instruments was established by Monteverde (q.v.) as the founda tion of his orchestra, no music was written for it until a century and a half later, when Haydn recognized the possibilities of this group of in struments. Haydn is the father of the symphony. He took the sonata form and in 1755 wrote a miniature symphony for the string quartet. Al though this first quartet is very crude, Haydn soon acquired mastery of the form. He wrote in all 83 quartets. Mozart, who greatly developed the quartet, did not, like Haydn, regard it as a miniature symphony to express only miniature ideas. Some of the boldest effects in :Mozart's works are found in his quartets. During the lifetime of Haydn and Mozart the quartet was assiduously cultivated by lesser composers, such as Gossee, Gretry, Sammartini, Romberg. Ries,
Onslow, and others. They were succeeded by the unrivaled master of the string quartet. Bee thoven. The first violin no longer had the prin cipal melody; he placed all four instruments: on a footing of absolute independence. Be wrote only 16 quartets. but in these monumental works all the possibilities of the form are exhausted. Schubert wrote 20 quartets which are scarcely inferior to those of bis predecessor either in pro found ideas or mastery of technical workmanship. While Beethoven occasionally allows one or two instruments to rest (producing a certain thin ness of tone), Schubert keeps every instrument at work from beginning to end. Schumann wrote only three quartets (op. 41), but they can be ranked with those of Beethoven and Schubert. Spohr wrote 33 quartets and four double quar tets. His quartets are more like those of Haydn and Mozart; the independence of the several in struments is sacrificed to the predominance of melody in the first violin. The same is true of Mendelssohn's quartets. The second violin and viola too frequently have only filling-up work, like tremolo, etc. Another master is Brahms, whose quartets are written entirely on the lines of his great predecessors. Some of the most im portant quartet organizations, with their original members, are: The Florentine, Becker, Masi, Chiostri. Hilpert ; the Georg, Joseph, Joseph, Jr., and Ferdinand Belimes berger; the Schuppanziah, Schuppanzigh, Shin, Weiss, Kraft ; the Joachim, Joachim, De Ahna, Wirth, Hausmann; the Kneisrl, Kneisel. Roth, Svecenski, Schroeder: the. Bohemian Quartet, Hoffman, Suk, Nedbal, Wihom; the Brodsky Quartet, Brodsky, Becker. Sitt. Klengel.