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
String Quintet (Bruckner) spectrum. Although Bruckner's String Quintet is primarily a chamber music work, the symphonic aspects of this work have inspired various authors to adapt to diverse instrumentation. Hans Stadlmair has set up the string quintet for a choral performance and also added double basses. Gottfired Kraus states: "Only the additional use of double basses creates new possibilities of expression, the great string sound lets us recognize in Bruckner's unmistakable language, the role models, not least the influence of Richard Wagner more clearly than in the comparatively brittle chamber music version of the case ." The work was among others recorded by