If you like this genre, you can find many of such works. For example, Robert Volkmann composed six of them. All are performed by the Mannheimer Streichquartett and released on 3 cpo CD's in 1998 (now at jpc available for EUR 5.99 per CD only), see here (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Robert-Volkmann-1815-1883-Streichquartette-Nr-2-5/hnum/6890715). Personally I think these works belong to Volkmann's most wonderful music. Very warm, intimate, full of memorable tunes, a lot of heartfelt passages, enough depth, in short: Romantic chamber music at his very best. Warmly recommended!
BTW, Raff's wonderful Nos. 6&7 are even cheaper, see here (http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Joachim-Raff-1822-1882-Streichquartette-Nr-6-7/hnum/5821860).
Which string quartets do you like and recommend?
Erkki Melartin's four. Arthur Foote.
Is Melartin's quartets only available in Fuga's own webstore in Finland, or di they export? I e-mailed them once concerning this set, but never received an answer.
They ship overseas. Go ahead and order it first and they will contact you later via email for billing details. I use a Visa and the items arrive very quickly. I think the two CD set is well worth it.
Even among unsung ones there are just far too many to even being to create a meaningful list but, off the cuff, there's Pergament's - and, to the extent that "unsung" means rarely performed in public, Schönberg's D minor quartet might well qualify, especially as it's one of the finest quartets since Beethoven. Van Dieren's six are well worth looking into but very hard to get hold of.
The six Stenhammar quartets are keepers, every one. Four decades ago, I couldn't understand the neglect of quartets by Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms. Today I feel the same way about the Stenhammar.