In 1873, Brahms completed the two op. 51 quartets. These were not the first string quartets Brahms composed, hut they were the first that Brahms allowed to be published. He found the string quartet difficult; as he confided to his friend Alwin Cranz, he sketched out twenty string quartets before producing a pair he thought worthy of publishing. Questions arise: what aspect of the string quartet gave Brahms so much trouble, and what in the op. 51 quartets gave him the inclination to publish them for the first time in his career? The op. 51 quartets are essential to understanding the evolution of Brahms's compositional technique. Brahms had difficulty limiting his massive harmony and polyphony to four solo strings. This difficulty was compounded by his insistence on deriving even the accompaniment from the opening main motivic material. This study investigates the manner in which Brahms distributes the main motivic material to all four voices in these quartets, while at the same time highlighting each voice effectively in the dialogue.

Wong Hiu Lam. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-109). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.iv / Abstract (Chinese Translation) --- p.v / Acknowledgements --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Overview of Bartok's six quartets --- p.1 / Literature review --- p.4 / Objectives --- p.9 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- "Karpati, Antokoletz and Wilson's Analytical Approaches" --- p.11 / Karpati's idea of mistiming --- p.11 / Antokoletz's interval cycle and interval ratio --- p.13 / Wilson's interest in structural hierarchy --- p.18 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- "The Fifth Quartet, First and Fifth Movements" --- p.23 / "The Fifth Quartet, first movement" --- p.24 / Form --- p.24 / Pitch centres --- p.26 / Fourths --- p.28 / "The Fifth Quartet, fifth movement" --- p.35 / Form --- p.35 / Pitch centres --- p.37 / Fourths --- p.37 / Symmetries --- p.41 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- "The Fifth Quartet, Second and Fourth Movements" --- p.45 / Bartok's analysis of the Fifth Quartet --- p.45 / Other analyses --- p.46 / Bartok's formal analysis of the second and fourth movements --- p.47 / An extended introduction --- p.48 / Similarities between the second and fourth movements --- p.49 / Prominent intervals and pc sets --- p.49 / Instrumental sequence --- p.53 / Juxtaposition and superimposition of(0123)s and (0167)s --- p.53 / Juxtaposition and superimposition: melody and chordal accompaniment --- p.54 / Thematic kinship --- p.55 / Texture --- p.57 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- "Figuring Thirds in the Fifth Quartet, Third Movement" --- p.59 / Formal structure of the whole quartet and the third movement --- p.59 / Motive a and third-structure --- p.60 / "Definition of ""third-structure""" --- p.61 / Arch-shaped melodies formed by thirds --- p.61 / Third-structures and the diatonic collection --- p.62 / Third-structures and the octatonic collection --- p.62 / Third-structures and the chromatic collection --- p.67 / Referential collections and formal structure --- p.67 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- "The Sixth Quartet, First and Fourth Movements" --- p.69 / Existing Literature --- p.69 / Formal structure --- p.71 / Mesto themes of the two movements --- p.73 / An unusual finale --- p.75 / Fourths --- p.79 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- "Duality in the Sixth Quartet, Second Movement" --- p.84 / Karpati and dual thirds --- p.87 / Dual centres B and G# --- p.88 / (0347)s --- p.90 / Relationship between duality and form --- p.92 / Chapter Chapter 8 --- "The Sixth Quartet, Third Movement" --- p.94 / Chapter Chapter 9 --- Conclusion --- p.100 / Selected Bibliography --- p.104

by Ho Tsz-Yan, Rebecca. / Thesis (M.Mus.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Part I: --- p.page / Chapter ´Ø --- Abstract --- p.1 / Chapter Part II: / Chapter ´Ø --- "Analysis on ""Conversation""" --- p.3 / Chapter ´Ø --- """Conversation"" (Full Score)" --- p.6 / Chapter ´Ø --- "Analysis on ""Dark Haze´ح" --- p.25 / Chapter ´Ø --- """Dark Haze"" (Full Score)" --- p.28 / Chapter ´Ø --- "Analysis on ""San-Shui Xi-Nan""" --- p.65 / Chapter ´Ø --- """San -Shui Xi-Nan"" (Full Score)" --- p.69 / Chapter Part III： / Chapter ´Ø --- Biography --- p.119