String Quartet no. 1 in E flat major

Composition was completed at the beginning of 1825, in stylistic terms it falls between Classicism and Romanticism. The straddling of stylistic epochs is evident in the four-movement design of the quartet, which refers do Classical solutions established during the previous centrury also in other genres. Nethertheles, it is worth drawing attention to the third movement, the minuet, which represented something of a testing ground for contrasting tradition with progress, history with the present, and formal with frivolous, which these popular dances may have symbolised.

Stylistic hanges heading towards Romanticism are evident also in the way the work's melodic layer is organise. The Józef Stefani's advanced compositional skills prove his crucial contribution to the evolution of the string quartet on Polish soil. And the catchy melodic phases - for which Stefani ceirtanly had a gift - will stir the emotions of a many listener.