1: Schubert's String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden” (56 performances) While the second movement from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1 has been heard 67 times at Carnegie Hall, Franz Schubert's “Death and the Maiden” is the quartet that has been performed most frequently in its entirety.

The standard structure for a string quartet is four movements, with the 1st movement in Sonata form, Allegro, in the tonic key; 2nd movement is a slow movement, in thesubdominant key; 3rd movement is a Minuet and Trio, in the tonic key; and the 4th movement is often in Rondo form or Sonata rondo form, in the tonic key.

Haydn: The Father of the String Quartet In spite of Allegri and Scarlatti's exploration of the string quartet, the genre was not securely established until Austrian composer Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) started exploring the possibilities of the four instruments.

String quartets of the classical period Quartets written during the classical period usually had four movements, with a structure similar to that of a symphony: A fast movement in sonata form in the tonic key. A slow movement, in a related key. A minuet and trio or (in later works) scherzo and trio, in the tonic key.