String quintet in 17th century Italy and can be seen as early as 1607 in Claudio Monteverdi's opera, "L'Orfeo". It can also be applied to the standard five-part orchestral string section: first violins, second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. String quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet") or a second cello (a "cello quintet"), or occasionally a double bass. Notable examples of classic "viola quintets", in
Cavani String Quartet Cavani String Quartet The Cavani String Quartet is an American string quartet based in Cleveland, Ohio. The quartet is named for the 19th century violin makers Giovanni and Vincenzo Cavani. The quartet formed in 1984 and became the Quartet-in-Residence at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1988. They have collaborated for many years in special performances with the poet Mwatabu Okantah. The quartet has recorded music by Béla Bartók, Maurice Ravel, Antonín Dvořák, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Dan Welcher, Donald Erb, Ernest Chausson, Leo Brouwer, and James Primosch for the Albany, Azica, Gasparo, New World, and Pantheon labels. They won