ABSTRACT

This chapter shows the interactions between the instrumental parts of a string quartet, a listener might be able to construct in his or her imagination each of those four parts as an individualized permanent agent. The string quartet genre of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is often characterized as a musical 'conversation' among equal partners. Two general listening strategies facilitate such an interpretation. First, most obviously, the listener needs to attend closely to the interactions between the instrument in question and the other instruments. A second listening strategy is equally essential: we can interpret an instrumental line as a stable agent only if we listen for an emerging pattern of motivations, desires, and so on as the movement progresses. Both listening strategies just outlined assume that a character profile can only be revealed through the interactions between the instrument in question and the other instruments.