Editing String quintet (section)

{{Short description|Musical composition for five string players}}
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 200
 | header=Typical layout
 | image1 = Ensemble layout - cello quintet.png
 | caption1 = Cello quintet
 | image2 = Ensemble layout - viola quintet.png
 | caption2 = Viola quintet
}}
{{listen|type=music|filename=BOCCHERINI op27n°3 G303 Mvt2 (last) Minuetto - Jacques Lochet violin and synthesizer.ogg|title=String quintet op. 27 No. 3 G303 Mvt2 (last) Minuetto by Luigi Boccherini, arranged for violin and harmonium}}

A '''string quintet''' is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the [[string quartet]] (two [[violins]], a [[viola]], and a [[cello]]), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet") or a second cello (a "cello quintet"), or occasionally a [[double bass]].

Notable examples of [[classical music|classic]] "viola quintets", in four movement form include those of [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]. Other examples were written by composers including [[Johannes Brahms]] and [[Felix Mendelssohn]].

A famous "cello quintet" is [[Franz Schubert]]'s [[String Quintet (Schubert)|Quintet in C major]]. [[Antonín Dvořák]]'s [[String Quintet No. 2 (Dvořák)|Quintet Op.&nbsp;77]] uses a double bass, and Mozart's famous ''[[Eine kleine Nachtmusik]]'' may be performed with this instrumentation (the double bass being optional).

Alternative additions include clarinet or piano (see [[clarinet quintet]], [[piano quintet]]); and other closely related [[chamber music]] genres include the string quartet (much more common), the [[string trio]], and the [[string sextet]]. A more unusual form of string quintet is the ''violin quintet'' composed of 3 violins, a viola and a cello (thus a string quartet with an additional violin).

The term ''string quintet'' may refer to a group of five players that performs such works. The ensemble was standard in 17th century Italy and can be seen as early as 1607 in [[Claudio Monteverdi]]'s opera, ''[[L'Orfeo]]''.<ref name="myers" />