Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of musical examples; Preface; 1 The string quartet as chamber music; 2 Social aspects: from private to public; 3 String quartet types: toward a reconsideration; 4 The lecture; 5 The polite conversation; 6 The debate; 7 The conversation; 8 The string quartet during the second half of the eighteenth century; Personalia; Bibliography; Index