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String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 71, No. 1 -1- Allegro |
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07:11 |
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String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 71, No. 1 -2- Adagio |
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05:38 |
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03 |
String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 71, No. 1 -3- Menuet - Allegretto |
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03:11 |
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04 |
String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 71, No. 1 -4- Finale - Allegretto |
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04:35 |
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05 |
String Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2 -1- Adagio - Allegro |
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06:22 |
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06 |
String Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2 -2- Adagio |
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05:09 |
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07 |
String Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2 -3- Menuet - Allegro |
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02:01 |
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08 |
String Quartet in D major, Op. 71, No. 2 -4- Finale - Allegretto |
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03:21 |
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09 |
String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 71, No. 3 -1- Vivace |
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06:14 |
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10 |
String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 71, No. 3 -2- Andante con moto |
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07:28 |
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11 |
String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 71, No. 3 -3- Menuet |
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03:52 |
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12 |
String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 71, No. 3 -4- Finale - Vivace |
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03:58 |
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01 |
String Quartet in C major, Op. 74, No. 1 -1- Allegro |
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06:25 |
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String Quartet in C major, Op. 74, No. 1 -2- Andantino |
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06:54 |
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String Quartet in C major, Op. 74, No. 1 -3- Menuet - Allegro |
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04:04 |
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04 |
String Quartet in C major, Op. 74, No. 1 -4- Finale - Vivace |
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05:31 |
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05 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 74, No. 2 -1- Allegro spiritoso |
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06:24 |
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06 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 74, No. 2 -2- Andante grazioso |
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07:22 |
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07 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 74, No. 2 -3- Menuet |
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03:55 |
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08 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 74, No. 2 -4- Finale - Presto |
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04:13 |
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09 |
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 -1- Allegro |
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05:10 |
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10 |
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 -2- Largo assai |
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07:17 |
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11 |
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 -3- Menuet - Allegretto |
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03:28 |
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12 |
String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 -4- Finale - Allegro con brio |
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05:43 |
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01 |
String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1 -1- Allegro moderato |
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05:46 |
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02 |
String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1 -2- Adagio |
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06:03 |
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03 |
String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1 -3- Menuet - Presto |
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04:01 |
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04 |
String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1 -4- Finale - Presto |
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04:08 |
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05 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2 -1- Allegro moderato |
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05:42 |
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06 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2 -2- Menuet - Presto |
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04:30 |
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07 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2 -3- Andante |
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07:00 |
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08 |
String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2 -4- Finale - Vivace assai |
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04:35 |
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09 |
String Quartet in D minor, Op.103 -1- Andante grazioso |
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05:22 |
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10 |
String Quartet in D minor, Op.103 -2- Menuetto ma non troppo Presto |
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05:15 |
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| Country |
United Kingdom |
| Packaging |
Jewel Case |
| Spars |
DDD |
| Sound |
Stereo |
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String Quartets (3), Op. 74, H. 3/72-74
Composition Date 1793
Description
English violinist and impresario Johann Peter Salomon brought Haydn to England twice, in 1790 and 1794. The first time, he came with a selection of his most recent symphonies and string quartets. The second time, he came with symphonies and string quartets newly composed for English tastes in general and for Salomon's style in particular. Commissioned by Hungarian nobleman Count Antal Apponyi, the six string quartets Haydn composed for England were published privately in London in 1795 and publicly in London, Paris, and Vienna in 1796. When they were published as part of a complete edition of the quartets in Haydn's lifetime, the six quartets were divided into two groups of three printed as Op. 71 and Op. 74. The three quartets of Op. 74 were probably composed after the Op. 71, but in substance they are aesthetically equal. Both sets are Haydn at his mature best: rhythmically muscular, thematically cogent, structurally compelling, brilliantly witty, and sometimes incredibly soulful. The String Quartet in C major, Op. 74/1, starts with a vivacious Allegro moderato with a virtuoso first violin part, moves through an endlessly charming Andantino grazioso and a Minuet that is less a dance than an outburst of bad temper, and ends with a Vivace Finale that is all dance set in sonata form. The String Quartet in F major, Op. 74/2, starts with a powerfully argued and openly joyful Allegro spiritoso, moves through a deeply affecting Andantino grazioso and a Minuet with a barrel organ trio, and ends with a delightfully droll and contrapuntally concentrated Presto Finale. The String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74/3, is the best known of the Op. 74 set of quartets, no doubt because of its nickname, "The Rider." The triple-time opening Allegro moderato is tightly built and intensely rhythmic. The Largo assai is leanly lyrical and surprisingly modern for 1793. The Minuet is in the tonic major, while its Trio is in the tonic minor. The closing Allegro con brio starts in the tonic minor but, earning its nickname, rides to victory in the glorious tonic major on the last page. -- James Leonard
String Quartets (3), Op. 71, H. 3/69-71
Composition Date 1793
Description
After Haydn returned to Vienna in July, 1792, has was able, for the first time in many years, to compose in peace. Free of his long-standing duties as Kapellmeister for the Esterhazy family, and temporarily free of contractual obligation to Johann Peter Salomon, the promoter of his visits to London, he composed his Symphony in E flat major, No. 99 and began work on his quartets dedicated to Count Apponyi, Opp. 71 and 74. The Op. 71 quartets were intended for public, rather than private, performance, and so they have a less intimate character than those of Op. 64 or Op. 76. Bold unison passages and a greater emphasis on harmonic processes bring to mind Haydn's symphonic compositions. Haydn's first-movement introductions in these quartets are unusually terse, but still create a sense of anticipation.
The first quartet, in B flat major, departs from the style of his first "London" symphonies and contemporaneous quartets by reusing passages from the first theme group as developmental material in the opening movement. The second movement, adagio, blurs the formal lines between sonata form and the simpler minuet. The following Minuet and the lively Trio are both in B flat major, and the propulsive Vivace is a masterpiece of motivic manipulation and contrapuntal passage work.
In D major, the second of the Op. 71 set is the only quartet from Opp. 71 and 74 in which the introduction to the first movement is in a slower tempo than the main body. Haydn's clear delineation of melody from accompanimental textures is reminiscent of his symphonies from the same period. The Adagio cantabile is notable for its sustained lyricism, and the concluding rondo is marked by alternating major and minor harmonies.
The opening gesture of the third quartet -- a single E flat major chord -- may well have inspired Beethoven's similar gesture in his Third Symphony. Most notable is the second movement, in which the pattern of repetition creates a double minuet and trio format, rounded by a varied return to the first theme. -- John Palmer
String Quartet No. 54 in B flat major, Op. 71/1, H. 3/69
Composition Date 1793
Description
A resolute series of chords starts off the opening Allegro, after which a no-nonsense theme comes forward with comparable determination. Eventually a charging transition with some virtuosic instrumental writing takes us to a somewhat more diffident section that gradually gathers confidence enroute to the codetta. The development begins imitatively, exploring lyrical and more earnest aspects of the theme.
The subsequent Adagio rocks gently in the 6/8 siciliano feeling, only gradually revealing its lyrical depth. The broadly gliding, often nudgy minuet echoes several of its own ideas, producing some phrases of unpredictable length. Running eighth-note figures in melody and accompaniments drive the contrasting trio. The vivace finale bustles along happily from start to finish. -- Aaron Rabushka
String Quartet No. 55 in D major, Op. 71/2, H. 3/70
Composition Date 1793
Description
This quartet begins with a chorale-style adagio introduction that leads to an elegant and stylish Allegro. There follows a tenderly lyrical Adagio cantabile that eventually raises its voice in dramatic concern before moving on to a wiser-for-wear conclusion. The allegretto minuet marks out its meter very pointedly, and the trio consists mostly of sustained tones with some drifting chromatic harmonies. The vivace finale takes off from a contented dance at a moderate clip and gives us a bit of virtuosity and a few moments of drama by the time we get to the end. -- Aaron Rabushka
String Quartet No. 56 in E flat major, Op. 71/3, H. 3/71
Composition Date 1793
Description
Although commissioned by Count Apponyi, a good violinist and generous patron of the arts, this quartet was actually written in preparation for Haydn's second trip to London, and the violinist more on Haydn's mind was surely the London impresario Johann Peter Salomon. So the work incorporates several of the tricks Haydn developed to impress (or, in the beginning, subdue) his English audiences. The first movement, for instance, begins with what Laszlo Somfai has memorably called a "noise-killer curtain," one loud, attention-getting chord separated from the main Vivace material by a full bar's rest. Another London trick is the series of unusual-for the time, almost freakish-modulations in the development section that veer from the sonata-form movement's standard harmonic path. The movement's witty first theme spins along happily for four bars before stopping to check itself with two quiet, bouncy little measures, and continues to repeat that pattern. The second subject is a slippery canon that never quite fires its contrapuntal shot.
The Andante con moto is a set of free variations on two themes, one an informal major-mode humming tune, and the other a minor-mode subject closely related to the first. The two are so similar, in fact, that it can be difficult to determine which is being varied-or if the second theme itself is simply a minor variation on the first. The movement's most notable moment comes in the third variation, in which the often-neglected cello gets the leading voice.
As if emboldened by his cello solo in the slow movement, Haydn allots a brief solo to each instrument in his lengthy Minuet, as if the momentarily dominant player were making a quiet confession to the others. The central trio begins deep in the solo cello, and by the end has risen to a violin part placed well above the staff.
The final movement, Vivace, takes ternary form, with the loping outer sections looking ahead to the Viennese waltz. The middle portion is a mild fugato in which Haydn shows off to the Londoners his superior Teutonic technique. -- James Reel
String Quartet No. 57 in C major, Op. 74/1, H. 3/72
Composition Date 1793
Description
This work is a vigorous quartet.
The opening Allegro moderato is a monothematic outing that starts with a two-chord, initially off-tonic introduction. The theme is mostly put forward over repeated-note introductions or imitative answers. It has a chromatic inclination that informs much of the movement's progress. Some virtuosic fiddling takes us through to a rather elegant codetta, after which the thematic elements are cut up and thrown around to fetching effect in the development.
The subsequent Andantino grazioso lilts elegantly, the minuet presses steadily forward through hemiolas and phrases of unexpected lengths, and the vivace finale drives onward with infections positive energy and a touch of a gypsy accent here and there in a texture that is often homophonic, often busier. -- Aaron Rabushka
String Quartet No. 58 in F major, Op. 74/2, H. 3/73
Composition Date 1793
Description
The three quartets of Op. 74 were separated from the three of Op. 71 only through an early publishing quirk; all really belong in the same company, destined to showcase Haydn's inventiveness during his second trip to London.
The Allegro spiritoso begins with an effect Haydn needed in London but not back on his quieter home turf: a unison forte announcement that grabs the noisy audience's attention and hints at the primary subject to come. That subject is one of Haydn's most delightful tunes, a happy melody that gently lifts from the F at the bottom of the first violin's staff into the stratosphere and then floats down again, while the second violin and viola help propel it with bouncy eighth-note figures. Haydn does not provide a substantial second subject, but more a trailing tail to the first that eventually wags trills everywhere; this is one of the "special effects" with which Haydn wowed the Londoners. The development section is essentially a polyphonic treatment of all this material.
The Andante grazioso introduces a simple, genteel theme typical of Haydn's slow movements during this period. The first variation inverts the melody; the second gives the first violin an ornate turn. Later variations include a minor- mode solo for second violin, and straightforward treatments of the melody with increasingly busy accompaniments.
The Minuet, led by the first violin, includes loopy little figurations that are mocked by the other instruments. The movement's trio section arrives in the unexpected key of D flat; if given the right rustic feel on nasal period instruments, this segment can sound like a barrel organ, but the effect is usually lost on more elegant modern instruments.
The Presto finale is launched by a darting, twirling theme in the first violin. The movement shifts into material with a less distinctive profile, closely linked to the opening theme. That first subject returns, as if to indicate the onset of a rondo, but it turns out that Haydn is really generating something more like a sonata- form movement, complete with short, melodramatic excursions that hint at the minor mode even though Haydn never officially leaves F major. That scampering initial theme conquers all, of course, and the quartet ends with an impressive series of strongly marked, rising chords, culminating in thick triple stops. -- James Reel
String Quartet No. 59 in G minor ("Rider"/"Horseman"), Op. 74/3, H. 3/74
Composition Date 1793
Description
This quartet carries the subtitle "Rider" or "Horseman" owing to some cantering figures in the first movement and galloping rhythms in the last.
After the initial motif canters for a bit the opening Allegro proceeds with a somewhat eerie presentation of the initially cautious first theme in sparse textures. It moves on to a graceful second theme accompanied by triplets such as have slowly worked their way into the texture. These elements are worked over and combined forcefully in the development, and presented again in the recapitulation that moves to a major-mode ending.
The subsequent Largo assai begins and proceeds chorale-style. There is a minor-mode middle section that continues the melodic presentation over repeated-note accompaniments, with some imitation in the melodically active parts. The opening chorale section returns with some ornamental figuration.
The minuet that follows features a wide range of textures, from phrases in two parts (imitating the harmony of the overtone series and valveless brass) to homophonically accompanied melody to active imitation. The trio features some sliding chromaticisms and unexpected melodic turns and phrase lengths.
The allegro con brio finale begins with a resolute theme stated over afterbeats that imply galloping. The second theme shifts to the major mode, and the instrumental writing becomes more flashy as the music moves along. The development cuts up the first theme and throws it around, with the galloping afterbeats often present, but never pervasive. There are some powerful pauses along the way. The recapitulation proceeds normally, taking us to a major-mode conclusion. -- Aaron Rabushka
String Quartet No. 66 in G major, Op. 77/1, H. 3/81
Composition Date 1799
Description
The Op. 77 string quartets of Haydn were begun in 1799, at the very end of his career. Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz commissioned six quartets, but the surviving two were the only ones the elderly master managed to complete; he was at the end of his creative tether, which made his twilight years frustrating for their artistic silence. Haydn probably knew this was coming, taking on the project with reluctance after writing The Creation, an act that exhausted him. However, whatever dark circumstances surrounded the commission, the Op. 77, No. 1 begins with a pastoral burst of delighted energy. Haydn was known for being excellent company and his music reflected his positive outlook throughout his career. Beginning with a monothematic sonata movement, one might imagine this to be the work of a composer at the apex of his abilities. The expressive energy is clear and bright, and no listener, however casual, could suspect that the players could be having anything other than a splendid time performing this impressively idiomatic and summery material. Following with an adagio that is contemplative but never dour, the contrast of these movements maintains a high level of interest without breaking the overall mood that swings back into high gear with the third, menuetto: presto-trio, movement. This is in the scherzo style, exploding with vigor that is tightly wound without sounding agitated. Such a departure from the traditional, and slower, minuet-trio was new for the music scene at the time, proving the composer was not resting on his laurels, in spite of his catalog being already rife with innovations. It is fair to say that he shaped much of the classical music style of the late eighteenth century single-handedly over the course of his long career and still he managed to offer new ideas that would stick with composers such as Beethoven, who would never fully rid his sound of Haydn's decisive influence. The Op. 77, No. 1 concludes with a presto finale that allows the listener's spirit to soar. Anyone acquainted with the endless list of contributions this musician offered his field cannot help but be astonished. Few people have given art so much with such a loving and skilled delivery. The Op. 77, No. 1 is a powerful testament for the sublime capabilities existing inside individuals. -- John Keillor
String Quartet No. 67 in F major ("Wait Till the Clouds Roll By"), Op. 77/2, H. 3/82
Composition Date 1799
Description
This is Haydn's final full string quartet. He initially intended his Opus 77 to include the usual six quartets, but the two years he labored on his oratorio The Creation left him no time to complete this commission from Prince Lobkowitz. The later, so-called Opus 103 quartet is merely a two-movement torso.
The quartet at hand, not surprisingly at this point, is full of surprises. Haydn begins with a disarmingly simple, graceful tune carried by the first violin with minimal accompaniment. This is the first subject, and the second, too-Haydn keeps elaborating on it, initially with a mere saturation of notes in the melody line, but before long with richer inner voices as well. The development brings shifting harmonic tension to the theme, completing the metamorphosis of its initially sweet nature-a character that returns, of course, in the straightforward recapitulation.
The quartet's inner movements reverse their usual order. Here the Minuet comes second. It begins with four bars of rough, irregular peasant dancing, providing all the material for the movement's outer sections. In the middle is a lyrical trio that at a slightly slower tempo and with less involved curlicues at the ends of phrases could be a fine lullaby. Unusually for Haydn, this section never comes to a full stop; it wanders into fragments of the Minuet theme, which open up into an abbreviated restatement of the opening section.
The long Andante is not the soothing slow movement we've come to expect by now, but an only slightly low-key piece built from a faintly martial melody. Haydn proceeds to put this theme through its paces, sending it to a genteel boot camp of development, embellishment, counterpoint, and even a few harrowing modulations. Despite all this, the theme itself remains intact throughout and never suffers any significant alteration; all the development takes place in the voices surrounding it.
A polonaise seems to have inspired the finale, Vivace assai, although that rhythm is hard to identify if you're not on the alert. This is another monothematic movement in sonata form, although Haydn's technique of development alternating with repeats of the subject in its original form could also count as a monothematic rondo. The composer manipulates the vigorous theme according to the standards he established in the Andante, keeping the melody clearly audible at all times while thickening its surroundings with counterpoint, imitation, and syncopation. The brief coda takes its leave without much ado, two utilitarian bars of moderate loudness capping a passage that had been growing softer by the phrase. Haydn had no idea this would be his last finished quartet, and had no reason to provide a valedictory ending. -- James Reel
String Quartet No. 68 in D minor (unfinished), Op. 103, H. 3/83
Composition Date 1803
Description
Haydn was in failing health when he accepted a commission in 1803 for six quartets from Count Moritz von Fries, who was also an active supporter of Beethoven. Haydn began a quartet with its less demanding inner movements, intending to write the more mentally taxing outer movements -- and the rest of the set -- when he felt stronger. By and by, he realized that his health would not improve, and he had the two finished movements published on their own with the announcement that they should be considered his farewell. The Andante grazioso, in B flat, is in ternary song form. The first of its three sections is a measured, patrician yet bittersweet melody carried mainly by the violins with some especially rich supporting work for the viola and cello. The initially mysterious second section is a sort of development of the first, lacking a really coherent, independent melody. It is mostly atmosphere, passing through several unexpected major and minor keys and brief moments of sharp drama. Eventually the opening melody returns in its original B flat for a full repetition of the initial section, rounded out by a lengthy coda and a few decisive chords. The Minuet is in an unexpectedly dramatic D minor, and even though the pulse is a clearly felt 3/4, the unsettled movement here toils far from its origins as a formal dance. Its phrases are alternately stern and questioning, and entirely unsettling. The trio brings on the more reassuring key of D major, but the melodic writing is highly chromatic and some of the harmonic voicing is quite full, looking ahead to middle-period and late Beethoven. The movement's severe opening section returns to close out this torso of a quartet, which would surely have been one of Haydn's most remarkable works had he been able to complete its outer movements in the same manner. -- James Reel
