In the article “Composers Are Familiar, but Not the Compositions,” Allan Kozinn writes about Mozart’s String Quartet in C Minor (K. 406) as being a”dark, tumultuous score” after hearing it being performed live by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The piece had been written originally for wind instruments but Kozinn writes that the score for strings seems to have more substance.
In any case, it can be assumed that either the first movement, the fourth movement, or both of the movements were the only ones that were played because they were in allegro and matched the excitement that Kozinn talked about. The other two movements, titled “Andante” and “Menuetto in Canone; Trio al Rovescio,” did not sound like they had any tumult at all and it could be inferred from their names that they would not have had as much disorder anyways.
Although there is a lot going on when hearing the first movement of Mozart’s String Quartet in C Minor (K. 406), it is not as disorderly as Kozinn wrote it would be. After a few parts where there is much activity, there is a slight respite in the form of a sweet melody that gives a balance and stability in the movement. But the piece does have a dark aura surrounding it throughout.
Since it is in C minor, the work would contain some elements that make it sound dark. After the brief pause in the middle of the piece, the music begins to highlight that darkness, no longer having going back to the pleasing melodies heard earlier in the piece.
Compared to Kozinn’s review of Mozart’s String Quartet in C Minor (K. 406), my review is a little less exaggerated. Kozinn overstated the frowning, chaotic nature of the piece a bit too much which altered my expectations of the piece containing turbulent strokes at a fast pace. But then again, I have never heard it live or heard it be played by the veteran instrumentalists who played for Kozinn.
