String quartet is often in Rondo form or Sonata rondo form, in the tonic key. Some quartets play together for many years in ensembles which may be named after the first violinist (e.g. the Takács Quartet), a composer (e.g. the Borodin Quartet) or a location (e.g. the Budapest Quartet). Well-known string quartets can be found in the list of string quartet ensembles. The early history of the string quartet is in many ways the history of Haydn's journey with the genre. Not that he composed the first quartet of all: before Haydn alighted on the genre there had been several spasmodic examples
String Quartet No. 3 (Rochberg) String Quartet No. 3 (Rochberg) George Rochberg’s String Quartet No. 3 is an important piece in American contemporary music literature. Written in 1971 and premiered on May 15, 1972, by the Concord String Quartet, the third string quartet was an important move away from serialism for the American composer. Early in his career George Rochberg wrote in a total serialist style that was popular with post World War II composers. Rochberg’s first and second quartets are written in this modernist style. Then in 1961 tragedy struck when Rochberg’s son became ill with an ultimately fatal brain tumor. His son’s death