Mozart: String Quartet No.22 in B-flat major, K.589

Introduction

The String Quartet No. 22 in B-flat major, K. 589, was written in May 1790 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is the second of the Prussian Quartets.

There are four movements:

1. Allegro, in B flat major
2. Larghetto, in E flat major
3. Menuetto: Moderato
4. Allegro assai, in B flat major

The quartet was written for and dedicated to the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, an amateur cellist. It is written in a similar style to the quartets of Joseph Haydn. Mozart and his friend Karl Lichnowsky met the king in Potsdam in April 1789. Mozart played before the king in Berlin on 26 May 1789. A typical performance lasts around 24 minutes.