Haydn String Quartets Sheet Music, Program Notes and recordings

The Father of the String Quartet: A Conversation Among Four Intelligent People

While Joseph Haydn made monumental contributions to the symphony and the sonata, his most personal, innovative, and arguably his greatest achievement was the creation of the classical string quartet. He took a minor, divertimento-like form and, over the course of more than sixty works, transformed it into the most prestigious and intellectually sophisticated genre of chamber music—what became known as the "conversation among four intelligent people. " In Haydn's hands, the quartet evolved from a simple, violin-led melody with accompaniment into a complex, democratic dialogue, a perfect musical embodiment of the wit, reason, and humane spirit of the Enlightenment. His 68 quartets are the bedrock of the entire repertoire, a vast and brilliant universe of musical thought that established the standard for every composer who followed.

From Divertimento to True Quartet

Haydn’s earliest quartets, from the late 1750s (Opp. 1 and 2), were essentially light outdoor serenades or divertimenti, with the first violin playing the pretty tunes and the other three instruments providing a simple, rhythmic accompaniment. A profound breakthrough came with the six quartets of Opus 20, the "Sun" Quartets of 1772. Composed during his Sturm und Drang period, these works are passionate, complex, and deeply emotional. Most revolutionary of all, three of them end not with a light rondo, but with a dense and complex fugue, a "learned" style of counterpoint borrowed from J.S. Bach. This was a radical statement: Haydn was declaring that the string quartet was now a vehicle for the most serious and profound musical argument.

The "New and Special Way": Opus 33

After a gap of nearly ten years, Haydn returned to the genre in 1781 with his Opus 33, the "Russian" Quartets (so-named because they were dedicated to a Russian Grand Duke). Haydn himself advertised these works as being written in a "new and completely special way. " This "new way" was the perfection of what is now called "thematic development. " Instead of simply presenting themes, Haydn now broke them down into tiny melodic and rhythmic motives, which he then developed and passed around all four instruments in a continuous, witty, and sophisticated conversation. He also replaced the formal Minuet with the lighter, faster, and more humorous "Scherzo" in these works. With Opus 33, the truly classical string quartet was born.

A Dialogue with Mozart

Haydn’s innovations had a profound effect on his younger friend, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. After studying Haydn's Opus 33, Mozart composed a set of six magnificent quartets of his own, which he dedicated with a heartfelt letter to the older master. Haydn, in turn, was deeply influenced by Mozart's rich harmonies and lyrical, operatic style. This respectful and mutually enriching dialogue between the two composers pushed the string quartet to new heights of sophistication and expressive depth throughout the 1780s.

The Late Masterpieces: Opus 76

The final complete set of six quartets, Opus 76, was composed in 1797 for the Hungarian Count Erdödy. Written after his final London triumphs, these works are the grand culmination of Haydn’s life's work in the genre. They combine the intellectual rigor of his earlier works with the grand, public-facing style of his London symphonies. These quartets are masterpieces of stunning variety and invention. The set includes the famous "Emperor" Quartet (No. 3), whose slow movement is a set of variations on the majestic tune Haydn had just composed for the Austrian national anthem. It also includes the "Sunrise" Quartet (No. 4), with its famous opening of a single, slowly rising violin line, and the "Fifths" Quartet (No. 2), nicknamed for the plunging open fifths that form its main theme.

A Closer Look: The "Emperor" Quartet, Op. 76, No. 3

This is perhaps Haydn’s most famous quartet. Its first, third, and fourth movements are masterpieces of his mature style, full of brilliant thematic work and rhythmic vitality. But it is the second movement, Poco Adagio, cantabile, that has made it immortal. Haydn takes his own powerful, hymn-like melody, "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" ("God Save Emperor Francis"), and presents it as a theme with four exquisite variations. In a remarkable and democratic display, each of the four instruments, in turn, gets to play the famous tune, while the other three weave an intricate and beautiful web of counterpoint around it. It is a movement of immense nobility, beauty, and patriotic feeling.

An Unfinished Farewell

In 1799, Haydn began his final quartet, Op. 103. He was by then an old man, and his health was failing. He was only able to complete two movements, a beautiful and deeply moving Andante and a final, energetic Minuet. Realizing he would not be able to finish it, he had the two movements published with a poignant calling card that quoted a vocal piece he had recently written: "Hin ist alle meine Kraft, alt und schwach bin ich" ("Gone is all my strength, old and weak am I"). It was a fittingly intimate and heartfelt conclusion to the career of a composer who had given so much of his most personal and profound musical thought to this most perfect of genres.

The Unparalleled Legacy

Haydn’s influence on the string quartet is absolute. He established its four-movement form, he perfected its conversational texture, and he imbued it with a depth of thought and feeling it had never before possessed. Every great composer of string quartets who followed, from Mozart and Beethoven to the present day, has worked in the house that Haydn built. His 68 quartets remain the essential foundation of the repertoire, an inexhaustible source of wit, beauty, and profound huma