http://www.clintonstringquartet.com/images/csq_photo.jpg
http://www.pereportaconcerts.com/imatges/Fotos/Leipzig%20String%20Quartet2.jpg
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v8/f3/hawthorne.gif
Not sure how common this seating is.
Best,
Jay
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Excellent. Well done lads.
[:D]
I've just nearly completed a string quartet thing - and it sounds like all the players are extremely drunk. That's crazy, because the piano part seemed to work and now I'll have rename this to Dorset Cider Party or something like that.
What piano part Paul, in a string quartet? Are you referring to a piano reduction? Nice to hear from you again, and that you still devote some of your time to music instead of joining the pro-golf tour.
So far as the performers' positions are concerned, it is completely up to you, and depends on the style of your music - if memory serves, Stockhausen put his quartet players in four separate helicopters at one time...
Now that's a good excuse for being drunk!
Cheers!
Hi Paul,
I don't know what is the best or most used seating in a string quartet and possibly there isn't such an issue. As mentioned in this topic there are different views on it, depending on acoustics, concert space, but also on the orchestration. Some quartets will be sounding better V1-Va-Cl-V2, others with the 2 volins on the left hand side. In my experience (I was working with a small chamber orchestra for more than 25 years), we always preferred the seatings with the first and 2nd violins separated. My ensemble had 3 first and 3 second violins, viola, cello or bass and/or bassoon, 2 flutes, 1 clarinet (or oboe), sometimes 1 or 2 recorders, sometimes 1 piccolo traverso. The violins (devided in two groups of 3) were sitting in the front (L and R), the woodwinds a little backward in between, the bass behind them all, a little to the right.
We tried a lot of positions, but in most halls, this setting sounded great and equilibrated.
I hope this was a bit helpful.
Max