Haydn's Op. 50 quartets are described as "music about music," rigorously and obsessively argued, delighting in making much out of little material.
Performer Biography
The London Haydn Quartet, a leading period instrument string quartet, was formed out of a passion for Haydn's string quartets and has performed complete cycles of his quartets.
Compositional Technique
The second movement of Op. 50 No. 1, an Adagio, was so popular that its theme was engraved on Haydn's monument in his birthplace of Rohrau in 1793.
Composition History
The autograph manuscripts for Op. 50, specifically Nos. 3-6, were considered lost for a long time until they were unexpectedly discovered in Melbourne in 1982.
Composition History
Haydn dedicated the Op. 50 quartets to the cello-playing King Frederick William II of Prussia at the behest of his publisher, Artaria.
Historical Context
Haydn sold 'exclusive rights' to his Op. 50 quartets to two different publishers, William Forster of London and Artaria of Vienna, a common practice due to the lack of copyright protection for composers at the time.
Composition History
The Op. 50 quartets were commissioned by the Viennese publisher Artaria, who offered Haydn 300 florins for a new set after the success of his 'Russian' quartets, Op. 33.
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