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
String section String section The string section is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses (or basses). It is the most numerous group in the typical Classical orchestra. In discussions of the instrumentation of a musical work, the phrase "the strings" or "and strings" is used to indicate a string section as just defined. An orchestra consisting solely of a string section is called a string orchestra. Smaller string sections are sometimes used in jazz, pop and rock music and in the pit orchestras of musical theatre.