Bela Bartok's String Quartet No. 3 (1927) is his most tightly constructed quartet, cast in a single movement. It was, to date, his most harmonically and contrapuntally complex quartet. It also continued his exploration of the expressive capabilities of string instruments, including effects such as glissando (slides), col legno (hitting strings with the wood of the bow), and sul ponticello (playing close to the bridge). It has been thought that he was inspired to write it after hearing Berg's Lyric Suite. Parts only.
