Dictionary of Music - Birding America

406 string quintetas well as Reger, Piston, and Sessions. Other notablestring quartets have been written by Glazunov(seven; 1882–1931), Charles Ives (1896; 1913),Kodály (1908; 1916), Nielsen (four; 1888–1906),Sibelius (Voces intimae; 1909), Elgar (op. 83; 1918),Fauré (1924), Janáček (1923; 1928), CrawfordSeeger (1931), Milhaud (eighteen; 1912–1950),Shostakovitch (fifteen; 1938–1974), Carter (1951;1959; 1973; 1986; 1995), Penderecki (1960; 1968),Tippett (five; 1935–1990), Ligeti (1954; 1968),Lutoslawski (1964), Ferneyhough (four;1967–1990), Hiller (seven; 1967–1990, especiallyno. 6, 1972), Henze (five; 1947–1976), Babbitt (six;1950–1993), Rochberg (eight; 1952–1979), andGubaidulina (four; 1982–1993). 2 An ensemble consistingof four stringed instruments.string quintet 1 A composition for five stringedinstruments, in which each instrument plays its ownpart (see QUINTET). The most common combinationconsists of a string quartet (two violins, viola, cello)plus either a second viola or a second cello. A fewquintets include a double bass with the string quartetinstruments, or, very occasionally, a third violin.The string quintet came into being about thesame time as the STRING QUARTET, and it, too, is aclassic sonata in form, but for five instruments (seeSONATA, def. 1). However, the quintet has attractedfewer composers than the quartet. The only exceptionis Boccherini, who exceeded his total of 102string quartets with some 125 string quintets. Unfortunately,many of them are slight in quality. Morenotable are the string quintets of Mozart, Beethoven,Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Dvorák alsowrote two string quintets, one with double bass. Inthe twentieth century, composers have largely preferredthe quartet to the quintet, at least for strings,but Vaughan Williams produced one fine example,his Fantasy Quintet (1910), and Sessions another(1958). 2 An ensemble of five stringed instruments.string sextetSee under SEXTET.string trio 1 A composition for three stringedinstruments, in which each instrument plays its ownpart (see TRIO, def. 2). The traditional string trioconsists of a violin, viola, and cello. Although thisform has appealed to far fewer composers than thepiano trio (see PIANO TRIO) and string quartet, thereare some notable examples.The string trio, like the string quartet, dates fromthe middle of the eighteenth century. Although therewere earlier works for three stringed instruments,they did not follow the structure of four contrastingmovements that is characteristic of the classic sonataand other chamber music (see SONATA, def. 1).Among the earliest examples are some twenty stringtrios by Haydn, for two violins and cello. (Some ofHaydn’s compositions for baryton are also, in effect,string trios; see HAYDN, FRANZ JOSEPH.) Boccheriniwrote sixty or so string trios, mostly of mediocrequality. More important are a Divertimento byMozart (K. 563) for violin, viola, and cello, and fivestring trios by Beethoven. For the next century or sothe form was largely neglected, but in the twentiethcentury it was revived, notably by Dohnányi (Serenadein C, 1902), Hindemith (String Trio no. 1,1924; no. 2, 1934), Webern (op. 20, 1927; a twelvetonework), and Schoenberg (op. 45, 1946; one ofthe composer’s last works). A more recent exampleis by Ferneyhough (1995). 2 An ensemble made upof three stringed instruments.strisciando (strēsh yän′dô) Italian. A directionto glide smoothly from one note to the next. Someauthorities consider it identical to a GLISSANDO, butothers as a very smooth LEGATO.stroboscope (strō′bə skōp′′). An instrument usedto measure the precise frequency of musical sounds(frequency determines pitch; see under SOUND). Itcan be used to determine whether an instrument orvoice is sounding various pitches correctly. It canalso measure the pitches of harmonics (overtones),and it can detect the tiny variations in pitch knownas VIBRATO. It has proved particularly useful instudying the scales, tunings, and singing practices ofAsian, African, and other non-Western music. Thestroboscope, invented in the early 1940s, is manufacturedunder a variety of trade names, such asStroboconn.stromenti di legno (strô men′tē dēlen′yô).Italian term for WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS.The