String Quartets (Mendelssohn)

Felix Mendelssohn wrote six numbered string quartets, all published during his lifetime:

• String Quartet No. 1 in E♭ major, Op. 12 composed in 1829
• String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 composed in 1827
• String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 44, No. 1 composed in 1838
• String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 44, No. 2 composed in 1837
• String Quartet No. 5 in E♭ major, Op. 44, No. 3 composed in 1838
• String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op. 80 composed in 1847

He wrote another quartet in E♭ major at the age of 14, just after he had composed his 13 string symphonies, but this was not published in his lifetime and has never been numbered. The first two numbered quartets were published, as can be seen above, out of order. The next three, published together as Op. 44, were dedicated to Crown Prince Oscar of Sweden. The last quartet was composed after the death of Mendelssohn's sister, a devastating blow, and would be his last major work: he died only two months after finishing it, but not before it was published, along with a set called Four Pieces for String Quartet, also written in his final years.