This collection of ten compositions for string quartet by Mozart includes six pieces dedicated to Joseph Haydn and three pieces composed for the king of Prussia. The King of Prussia for whom Mozart composed some of these quartets for was by all accounts a Cellist of no mean ability; especially if one may judge by these works whose Cello parts are elaborate and demanding often soaring into the upper ranges leaving the viola to take up its momentarily abandoned role as bass instrument! Works include String Quartet No. 14 in G major K387 'Spring' String Quartet No. 15 in D minor K421 String Quartet No. 16 in E flat K428 String Quartet No. 17 inB flat major K458 'The Hunt' String Quartet No. 18 in A Major K464 'Drum' String Quartet No. 19 in C major K465 'Dissonance' String Quartet No. 20 in D major K499 'Hoffmeister' String Quartet No. 21 in D major K575 'Prussian No. 1' String Quartet No. 22 in B flat major K589 'Prussian No. 2' and String Quartet No. 23 in F Major K590 'Prussian No. 3'

After Volumes IV and III of the series with Mozartâ??s complete string quartets appeared as Henle Urtext editions in early 2017 and 2019 respectively Mozart expert Wolf-Dieter Seiffert now presents Volume II â?? in full score and individual parts. Included are the â??Early Viennese Quartetsâ? from 1773 K. 168â??173. Entries in the autograph manuscript by the composerâ??s father Leopold however suggest that the ordering of the six works into a unified series of quartets was his doing. In his preface Wolf-Dieter Seiffert shares brand-new findings on the actual chronology of the genesis of these quartets. Moreover he succeeds in correcting what in prior editions were occasionalinaccuracies in dynamics and articulation thereby producing a new assured musical text. With artistic input from the Armida Quartet Volume II of the String Quartets also sets the benchmark in the Mozart Edition! After Volumes IV and III of the series with Mozartâ??s complete string quartets appeared as Henle Urtext editions in early 2017 and 2019 respectively Mozart expert Wolf-Dieter Seiffert now presents Volume II â?? in full score and individual parts. Included are the â??Early Viennese Quartetsâ? from 1773 K. 168â??173. Entries in the autograph manuscript by the composerâ??s father Leopold however suggest that the ordering of the six works into a unified series of quartets was his doing. In his preface Wolf-Dieter Seiffert shares brand-new findings on the actual chronology of the genesis of these quartets. Moreover he succeeds in correcting what in prior editions were occasionalinaccuracies in dynamics and articulation thereby producing a new assured musical text. With artistic input from the Armida Quartet Volume II of the String Quartets also sets the benchmark in the Mozart Edition!

String Quartets Complete Vol.2 is an impressive collection of 17 of Mozart's String Quartets includes works such as Adagio & Fugue in C minor for Strings K546 Flute Quartet No. 1 in D major K285 Flute Quartet No. 4 in A major K298 Oboe Quartet in F major K370 Serenade No. 13 in G major K525 'Eine kleine Nachtmusik' String Quartet No. 2 in D major K155 String Quartet No. 3 in G major K156 String Quartet No. 4 in C major K157 String Quartet No. 5 in F major K158 String Quartet No. 6 in B flat major K159 String Quartet No. 7 in E flat major K160 and more.

This volume brings together Mozart?s youthful attempts at this later so central genre of the string quartet: the astonishing ?Lodi Quartet? K. 80 by the only fourteen-year-old composer, the three ?Quartet-Divertimenti? K. 136?138 which are also readily played by chamber orchestras, and Mozart?s first true string-quartet cycle K. 155?160 which was composed during his third (north-)Italian journey in 1772/73. Mozart?s cleanly written scores of all the compositions have been preserved so that the edition stands on a secure foundation. In his informative commentary, Wolf-Dieter Seiffert, the experienced Mozart editor at G. Henle Publishers, devotes a separate, comprehensive explanatory section to the well-known articulation problem ?dot or wedge?. The Armida Quartet provided artistic input for this edition.

Hoffmeister Quartet and Prussian Quartets-Over the next few years all 26 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?s String Quartets will be published by Henle in an Urtext Edition of both score and parts. All previous editions have left much to be desired for example asconcerns the correct placement of dynamic markings.Henle?s edition made with the artistic collaboration of the Armida Quartet draws upon the large body of modern knowledge concerning Mozart philology andperformance practice. We begin with what are chronologically speaking the final four quartets: the so-called ?Hoffmeister? Quartet K. 499 and the three ?Prussian? Quartets K. 575 589 and 590.It is possible that the impulse behind the composition of these last three works was the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II who was an excellent cellist. Modern cellists will find many beautiful melodies to enjoy in thesequartets.