This is the very first string quartet Mozart ever composed.
The Mozart Family Photo: Public Domain
Touring Europe regularly from the age of six with his father and sister, young Wolfgang, the child prodigy worked on his String Quartet No 1 while he was in Italy. He was just fourteen.
The quartet’s three-movement structure followed the pattern of the trio sonata form popular in Italy in the 1770s. Then several years later a French-style Rondo was added as the final movement.
It’s questionable, though whether the young Mozart actually completed the last two movements himself. Some think his father, Leopold, wrote those two for him.
So here, we have just the first two movements of Mozart’s String Quartet No 1 – the ones we can be pretty sure are pure, unadulterated Mozart.
Recorded 29 June 2019 at St. Mary of the Angels, Wellington by RNZ Concert
Producer/engineer: Darryl Stack
