String Quartet in E-flat Major

Four instruments, one unsettled line

K. 428 begins softly with all four instruments sharing an angular, chromatic idea. The texture then separates into distinct voices. Brentano violist Misha Amory points to the unusual intervals from which Mozart builds the opening theme. For the players, that makes the first phrase a question of shared direction and intonation, not merely of starting together. Each semitone and change of contour needs to belong to the same unfolding thought.

Listen across the whole quartet

Practise the opening slowly enough to hear how the instruments meet on each arrival. Then restore its motion without smoothing away the line’s character. When the parts separate, notice which voice continues an idea and which one changes the harmony underneath it. Try the passage in pairs before combining all four parts, so that the quieter connections remain audible.

Music in this edition

1. String Quartet in E-flat Major