String Quartet No. 2 (Smetana) The composition was at first received by the part of listeners and critics with hesitation, and even with objections. However, thanks to many successful interpretations (Czech Quartet, Smetana Quartet, Janáček Quartet etc.) the quartet today belongs to the great values of Czech music history and culture. String Quartet No. 2 (Smetana) Bedřich Smetana's String Quartet No. 2 in D minor is a chamber composition for string quartet. It's Smetana's last quartet. In June 1882, after composing the monumental cycle Má vlast, operas Tajemství, Čertova stěna and other works, Smetana began thinking about the creation of his second string quartet. A
String Quartet (Verdi) original performers survive only as Pinto brothers, violins, Salvadore, viola, and Giarritiello, cello. Verdi commented on the work, saying "I've written a Quartet in my leisure moments in Naples. I had it performed one evening in my house, without attaching the least importance to it and without inviting anyone in particular. Only the seven or eight persons who usually come to visit me were present. I don't know whether the Quartet is beautiful or ugly, but I do know that it's a Quartet!" The quartet also exists in a version for string orchestra. The Quartet is scored for the usual