String Quintet No. 4 (Mozart) String Quintet No. 4 (Mozart) The String Quintet No. 4 in G minor, K. 516, written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is like all of Mozart's string quintets a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet and an extra viola (that is, two violins, two violas and cello). The mood of the piece is dark and melancholic, typical of Mozart's G minor works. The work was completed on May 16, 1787, less than a month after the completion of his grand C major Quintet, K. 515. This would not be the last time that a great pair of
Piano quintet scored for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon. Not until the middle of the 19th century did Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet in E major, Op. 44 (1842) firmly establish music for piano and string quartet as a significant, and quintessentially Romantic, chamber music genre. By 1842, the string quartet had evolved into the most important chamber music ensemble, and advances in the design of the piano had expanded its power and dynamic range. Bringing the piano and string quartet together, Schumann's Piano Quintet took full advantage of the expressive possibilities of these forces in combination, alternating conversational passages between the