Mozart's Quartet in D Minor, K. 421 is one of 12 string quartets for intermediate strings included in Richard Young's Comprehensive String Pedagogy & Curriculum. A portion of the proceeds of sales for all CSPC music goes to support free music education at The People's Music School.

Like the other CSPC background notes for “standard repertoire” string quartets, these are not intended to be a tutorial for teaching this iconic work. Indeed, the best way to study these quartets in detail is under the guidance of professional string quartet players. Nevertheless intermediate-level students should not be discouraged from learning them. And even those teachers who have not received advanced training in string quartet playing can still be quite helpful and inspiring. By discussing this piece in a broader context, not just rationally but emotionally, these background notes might provide some of that inspiration.
 The music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart comes as close to perfection as any that’s ever been written. In fact, many believe that it is the manifestation of God himself. And yet, Mozart’s character and personal behavior were far from perfect. He could be insolent, frivolous, and shockingly crass – hardly the person we imagine when we hear Mozart’s divine music!
 -Richard Young

Full program notes are included with the score. There are fingerings and bowings in all the string parts of every one of CSPC's pieces. These "cooked-in" technical solutions target the particular levels of the students. They are not just pragmatic but "musical."

Please note that due to a loss of source files, the PDF files of the music have been generated from scanned copies of printed parts. While every effort has been made to produce high quality parts, the limitations of scanning will result in some degradation of print quality.