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Mozart would not devote himself to
string quartet music again for over
thirteen years. During this hiatus,
there were his travels, the break
with Colloredo, his move to Vienna,
the early successes.
Why did he return to it at all in 1787, presenting three new pieces that had
been commissioned all at once? There are a great many explanations for this,
but all remain hypothetical.
Perhaps Mozart had recently met Boccherini passing through Vienna en
route to Berlin at the Prussian court during the same period. Highly unlikely.
Perhaps it was the result of a specific commission. Again, highly unlikely,
given that the three works were grouped together as part of a commission.
Was it merely because the composer was undergoing a period of doubt and
distress that year? Success eluded him; he grew bitter over the failure of
The
Marriage of Figaro
. He knew that there was little chance that new orchestral
works, such as symphonies, would generate any interest in Vienna. His last
major pieces, the
38
TH
Symphony
and
the Concerto KV503
, were written in
Prague (where Figaro triumphed).
38 MOZART_TALICH QUARTET