MHST 414 Classical String Quartet
This course offers an exploration of the string quartet from Haydn to early Beethoven as seen from the perspectives of historian, composer, performer, and listener. The main text will be Inside Beethoven Quartets: History, Performance, and Interpretation by Lewis Lockwood and the Julliard String Quartet (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008). As in this book, the main approach of the course will be an active dialog between musical scholarship and performance and will address many different aspects of the string quartet including historical context, compositional history, reception history, as well as historical and modern interpretations.