Schubert’s String Quartets: Historical and Analytical Contexts

Abstract

Chapter 2 considers Schubert’s string quartets, their early reception, broader historical circumstances, and some contemporaneous examples of the genre. It begins by considering the issues surrounding the posthumous dissemination of the quartets and the ramifications of that for the reception of the works in future generations, focusing in particular on the disparity of treatment between the post-1824 quartets and Schubert’s earlier examples of the genre. It goes on to clarify the backdrop against which Schubert’s quartets were written by exploring string-quartet publication and performance in Vienna in the period 1800–28. From this, it isolates Joseph Mayseder’s quartets as providing a novel and distinct formal context for Schubert’s contemporaneous works and considers areas of overlap and their meaning for Schubert’s works.