Aaron Rabushka wrote:
>... the concerti grossi of Pietro Locatelli's op. 1 feature a
>quartet as concertino.
I'm glad Aaron mentioned a baroque composer and concerti grossi as a
precursor to the modern concerto with string quartet, though I think
Locatelli's Op. 1 concerti grossi of 1721 were written for either 2
violins and viola, or 2 violins and 2 violas (still a "quartet"). His
Concerto Grosso "Introduttioni Teatrali" Op. 4 #12 for 4 violins (1735)
is also a candidate, as are concertos by Vivaldi and Telemann for this
combination.
However, I believe the use of 2 violins, viola and cello as a concertino
group was not all that uncommon in the high baroque. I also suspect there
were some sinfonia concertantes (the classical period successor to the
baroque concerto grosso) for quartet and orchestra, though I haven't been
able to track down any specific examples.
Here's what I have been able to track down, in chronological order -
For Violin, Viola, Cello & Double Bass:
GEMINIANI 12 Concerti Grossi after Corelli (1726)
GEMINIANI 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 2 (1732)
GEMINIANI 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (1733)
GEMINIANI 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 4 (1739)
DE FESCH 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 10 (1741)
GEMINIANI 6 Concerti Grossi, Op. 7 (1746)
SPOHR Concerto, Op. 131 (1845)
DYSON Concerto "da Camera" (1949)
DYSON Concerto "da Chiesa" (1949)
ORBON Concerto Grosso (1958)
For Violin, Viola, Cello & Double Bass:
DE FESCH 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 2 (1714)
DE FESCH 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 (1716)
DE FESCH 12 Concerti Grossi, Op. 5 (1725)
For 2 Violins & 2 Violas
ALBINONI 12 Concerti, Op. 5 (1707)
For 2 Violins & 2 Violas
VIVALDI Concerto in D Major, RV 564 (before 1741)
VIVALDI Concerto in G Major, RV 575 (before 1741)
And, just for fun, some works for a trio of strings -
For Violin, Viola & Cello:
MOZART, W.A. Sinfonia Concertante (fragment) K. 320e (1779)
PLEYEL Trio concertant Op. 11/1 (1831)
KODALY Concerto (1939)
For 2 Violins & Cello:
VIVALDI Concerto Op. 3 #2 in G minor, RV 578 (1711)
VIVALDI Concerto Op. 3 #11 in D minor, RV 565 (1711)
AVISON 12 Concerti Grossi after Scarlatti (1752)
BACH, J.C. Sinfonia Concertante in C Major (1762)
BACH, J.C. Sinfonia Concertante in E Flat Major (1773)
BACH, J.C. Sinfonia Concertante in G Major (1772)
MUFFAT, Geo. Concerto Grosso "Cor Vigilans" in A Major (1701)
For Violin & 2 Cellos:
VIVALDI Concerto in C Major, RV 561 (1741)
Vivaldi was definitely the king of concertos for diverse instrumentation,
including works for just about every combination of three to five string
soloists. There's a complete works list at Classical Net, so I won't
reproduce it here.
Dave
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