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 Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5 (Boccherini) the viola and celli have eighth note pizzicato. The second violin, on the other hand, has quick sixteenth note slurs which contain many string crossings. As Elisabeth Le Guin puts it in "Boccherini’s Body: An Essay in Carnal Musicology", “The second violinist has no time for "galanterie"; he must concentrate on keeping the constant string crossings reasonable even through the length of the bow”. The arrangements of this quintet, especially of the minuet, are extremely numerous. The entire piece was arranged for a double viola quintet in the 18th century. A 19th century transcription of the minuet for the organ