Music and Time Annotation << Back The Evolution of the String Quartet Genre in the Works of Myaskovsky V.V. Balshin This article examines the evolution of the string quartet genre in the works of N.Ya. Myaskovsky, studies individual stages of its development and identifi es a number of characteristic features in the context of the genre's development. The author has made the fi rst attempt to determine the substantive connection between the composer's symphonic, chamber-vocal (romance) and quartet works, to give a holistic description of his quartets: the composer's desire for symmetrical organization in the structure of the cycle, the role of reprise, the use of various types of counterpoint writing and the unity of the cycle due to internal motivic and thematic connections. In particular, the role of the sonata form is noted, which is of decisive importance in Myaskovsky's quartets, as well as in the composer's symphonic works. A substantive comparison of the quartet and symphony genres in Myaskovsky's works showed that the composer's quartets are distinguished by greater objectivity, "classicality" of artistic expression, while the symphony can be compared to "pages of a diary". Keywords: string quartets by N.Ya. Myaskovsky, polyphonic writing, features of the quartet genre, evolution of the string quartet genre. Pp. 03-06.