Beschreibung
Quartet No. 1, employing a standard string-quartet instrumentation, is one of Dragonetti’s most inventive and interesting works. It has a five-movement format that again characteristically draws form many styles. The first movement (Andante) hints at Baroque influences with its extensive ornamentation in the first violin part. This is followed by a triple-meter Presto evocative of traditional Viennese dance movements. The final movement is a large ternary form (Allegretto: Tempo di Allemande – Adagio – Allegretto: Tempo primo), featuring dance sections with a Baroque flavor surrounding a charming, and somewhat Romantic sounding, central section.