CCXCVII. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus: String Quartet #13 in D Minor, K. 173

CCXCVII. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)

String Quartet #13 in D Minor, K. 173 (1773)
1. Allegro moderato
2. Andante Grazioso
3. Menuetto
4. Allegro moderato
Festetics Quartet
(16:52)

The product of a young seventeen-year-old:

First Movement

These trill figures are predominant throughout.

Second Movement

The 16th-note triplets are a nice touch. Especially, when he sets them against the duple rhythm:

Third Movement

Mozart was studying Haydn quartets, particularly Opus 9, published a few years prior. Note the borrowing of the first five notes of the Haydn:

Haydn, Op. 9, No. 4

Fourth Movement

Here is something really special -- a fugato with a descending chromatic line. This was a favorite Bach trick [see The Musical Offering, BWV 1079 {Post CXXXVI}] ... 

and Mozart pulls it off with astonishing skill.