A string quartet refers to a musical ensemble consisting of four string players – two violin players, a viola player and a cellist – or to a musical composition written to be performed by such a group. The string quartet is one of the most prominent chamber ensembles in classical music; the string quartet was developed into its present form by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, whose works in the 1750s established the ensemble as a group of four more-or-less equal partners. Since Haydn the string quartet has been considered a prestigious form: writing for four instruments with broadly similar characteristics both constrains and tests a composer's art. String quartet composition flourished in the Classical era: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven each wrote several. Many Romantic and early-twentieth-century composers composed string quartets, including Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček and Claude Debussy. If there was a slight lull in the pace of string quartet composition through the nineteenth century it received a resurgence in the 20th Century with the Second Viennese School, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Milton Babbitt and Elliott Carter producing regarded examples of the genre.

In the 21st century it remains an refined musical form. The standard structure for a string quartet as established in the Classical era is four movements, with the first movement in Sonata form, Allegro, in the tonic key; some string quartets ensembles play together for many years and become established and promoted as an entity in a similar way to an instrumental soloist or an orchestra. The early history of the string quartet is in many ways the history of Haydn's journey with the genre. Not that he composed the first quartet of all: before Haydn alighted on the genre there had been examples of divertimenti for two solo violins and cello by Viennese composers such as Georg Christoph Wagenseil and Ignaz Holzbauer. David Wyn Jones cites the widespread practice of four players, one to a part, playing works written for string orchestra, such as divertimenti and serenades, there being no separate contrabass part in string scoring before the 19th century. However, these composers showed no interest in exploring the development of the string quartet as a medium.

The origins of the string quartet can be further traced back to the Baroque trio sonata, in which two solo instruments performed with a continuo section consisting of a bass instrument and keyboard. A early example is a four-part sonata for string ensemble by Gregorio Allegri that might be considered an important prototype. By the early 18th century, composers were adding a third soloist, thus when Alessandro Scarlatti wrote a set of six works entitled "Sonata à Quattro per due Violini, Violetta, e Violoncello senza Cembalo", this was a natural evolution from the existing tradition. Haydn is responsible for the string quartet in its now accepted form. Although he did not invent the combination of two violins and cello, previous occurrences in chamber music were more due to circumstance rather than conscious design; the string quartet enjoyed no recognized status as an ensemble in the way that two violins with basso continuo – the so-called'trio sonata' – had for more than a hundred years. The composition of Haydn's earliest string quartets owed more to chance than artistic imperative.

During the 1750s, when the young composer was still working as a teacher and violinist in Vienna, he would be invited to spend time at the nearby castle at Weinzierl of the music-loving Austrian nobleman Karl Joseph Weber, Edler von Fürnberg. There he would play chamber music in an ad hoc ensemble consisting of Fürnberg's steward, a priest and a local cellist, when the Baron asked for some new music for the group to play, Haydn's first string quartets were born, it is not clear whether any of these works ended up in the two sets published in the mid-1760s and known as Haydn's Opp.1 and 2, but it seems reasonable to assume that they were at least similar in character. Haydn's early biographer Georg August Griesinger tells the story thus: The following purely chance circumstance had led him to try his luck at the composition of quartets. A Baron Fürnberg had a place in Weinzierl, several stages from Vienna, he invited from time to time his pastor, his manager and Albrechtsberger in order to have a little music.

Fürnberg requested Haydn to compose something. Haydn eighteen years old, took up this proposal, so originated his first quartet which it appeared, received such general approval that Haydn took courage to work further in this form. Haydn went on to write nine other quartets around this time; these works were published as his Op. 1 and Op. 2. They have five movements and take the form: fast movement and trio I, slow movement and trio II, fast finale; as Ludwig Finscher notes, t

Prabhavathi is a 1944 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by T. R. Raghunath and produced by Lena Chettiar; the film stars S. P. L. Dhanalakshmi, it was released on 6 August 1944, was not commercially successful. The film revolves around the Hindu god Krishnan, his son Prathyumnan, the sage Naradar and his mischief-making activities, Prathyumnan being cursed by a sage into becoming a woman, how he is relieved of the curse due to Krishnan's involvement, how Prathyumnan and his love interest Mayavathi are reunited. Cast adapted from the film's song book Prabhavathi was directed by T. R. Raghunath and produced by S. M. Letchumanan "Lena" Chettiar, under the production banner Krishna Pictures. Krishna, a male character, was played by Raghunath's wife M. S. Saroja, while C. Honnappa Bhagavathar played the male lead Prathyumnan and T. R. Rajakumari played his love interest Mayavathi. S. P. L. Dhanalakshmi, aunt of Rajakumari, played the title character, while N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram played characters serving comic relief.

D. Balasubramaniam played Vajranabhan, the king of Pathalaloka and S. V. Sahasranamam played Shivan, while K. Mahadevan Iyer played the sage Naradar. T. A. Jayalakshmi appeared as a background dancer. Prabhavathi was released on 6 August 1944, was distributed by Murugan Talkies; the film was not a commercial success, but film historian Randor Guy said it would be "Remembered for being one of the early movies of the glamour girl Rajakumari". Prabhavathi on IMDb

A quadrathlon is an endurance sports event composed of four individual disciplines. All four disciplines are completed in succession and the lowest overall time decides the winner; the World Quadrathlon Federation defines that a quadrathlon consists of in any order, though as above. The distances, time duration and events depending on the organizing body, the location of the event and the time of year. During the winter months, cross country skiing and snowshoeing may replace kayaking. In Great Britain, the governing body is the British Quadrathlon Association; the World Quadrathlon Federation has stated aim is to provide and promote International awareness for the sport of Quadrathlon. "Quadrathlon adds flatwater kayaking to the sport of triathlon to create a balanced test of fitness." The event is intense, requires training before entering. People who have entered the event have commented on the strain it puts on the body after each interval, "My calves were so tight each step ricocheted through my body...

By I just wanted to be done" female competitor Domity Mcdowell wrote. The competitors that complete the Quadrathlon are also involved in events such as the triathlon and marathons. Danelle Ballengee, a professional female athlete who has competed in multiple events claims she "just loves a challenge"; the World Quadrathlon Federation's World Cup has been running since 2001, constitutes a series of races in multiple countries. The scoring method for the series takes the four best results for each athlete, awarding points based on position; each athlete can enter as many races. This method allows participation for as large a number of people as possible, given the cup's geographic spread; the 2013 cup, which finished with the Bude Awesome Foursome, was won by Stefan Teichert in the men's category and Lisa Maria Hirschfelder in the women's, both of Germany. The distribution of points per race decreases starting from 100 points. 1st-5th places are separated by 10 point increments, placings 5-11 are separated by 5 point increments, placements 11th-21st are separated by 2 point increments, from here the placement increments are 1 point and any placements after that receive 0 points.

International championship world cup races can be evaluated with more points that what was stated. Every place can be upgraded by 20 points, 1st place receives 120 instead of 100, 110 points instead of 90 for 2nd place, 21points instead of 1 point for 30th place. There are bonus points for athletes who have finished more than four World Cup races in season; these athletes are awarded 10 points per every extra race completed. After failed attempts at beginning the quadrathlon in the early 80's, a man by the name of Sergio Ferrero initiated the first quadrathlon, held in 1987 on the island, Ibiza; this same man established the World Quadrathlon Federation in 1990. This first quadrathlon consisted of 20 km kayak, 100 km biking and 21.1 km running. Not much has changed from the first quadrathlon up until now, as only 1 km has been reduced from the swim. In 1997, under the guidance of Czech Vaclav Marek, the European Quadrathlon Federation was formed; the 2013 European Championships was held in the UK in Lincolnshire and was won by Steve Clark from Great Britain and Lisa Maria Hirschfelder from Germany.

There are a number of rules and regulations that both the athletes and officials must follow on the day of the event. These rules, if not followed can end in warnings and disqualification; some of the general guidelines that the athletes must abide by are as follows. General rules for each sport include: There are not any specific rules for swimming in general the attire worn by the swimmers. No fluorescent bathers to be worn and bathers must cover sexual characteristics. Swim goggles and caps are allowed and the identification number must be displayed on either the arm or back of the leg. In the bike section of the race a bike must ride individually and have a support either on foot or in a separate vehicle. No biker can enter a transition area and must follow traffic rules if the course isn't closed to the public; the kayak must non mechanical for any advantages. All kayaks/Canoes must be over 8 kg in weight; the upper body must be covered and footwear must be worn at all times, excluding shoes with spikes.

No electronic devices can be used and any competitors leaving the race course for an advantage will be disqualified. Stefan Teichert Leoš Roušavÿ Miroslav Podborskÿ Michal Háša Thoralf Berg Pedro Bartolomeu Bernat Torres Marthe de Ferrer Antje Fiebig Katrin Burow Lisa Maria Hirschfelder Silke Harenburg Ellen Mielke Noelia Simon Vanessa Jimenez There has been other versions of quadrathlon. In 1984, in Australia, a version called "Fosters' Quadrathlon" included a 3-Km swim, a 50-Km race walk, a 160-Km cycle ride, a 42-Km marathon. In winter conditions and cross-country skiing replaces running and swimming. Biathlon Duathlon Triathlon Decathlon British Quadrathlon Association World Quadrathlon Federation Quadrathlon4YOU.com ^ "Sport and Competition Order of the World Quadrathlon Federation". Retrieved 10 April 2015