The String Quartet

Between the two world wars, Italian music was largely defined by a select group of composers. Besides Respighi and Pizzetti, the most important figures were Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973) and Alfredo Casella (1883-1949), both of whom, in addition to operas and orchestral works, also made significant contributions to the string quartet repertoire. Malipiero was also a significant musicologist, responsible for preparing many works from Monteverdi to Vivaldi for modern editions. In his eight string quartets, each consisting of a single movement, we find reflections of this influence on numerous pages, as seen in the titles of the first three quartets: ‘Rispetti e strambotti’, ‘Stornelli e Ballate’, and ‘Cantari alla madrigalesca’.