Joseph Haydn was commissioned to write music for four string players, including himself as a violinist, to be performed at a baron's castle in Weinzierl.
Recording & Production
MDG recordings are made in specially selected concert halls to capture natural acoustics, avoiding artificial reverb, sound filters, and limiters.
Performer Biography
The Leipziger Streichquartett (Leipzig String Quartet) was founded in 1988, with three members having previously played in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Performer Biography
The Leipziger Streichquartett has released about 100 recordings, earning international acclaim and numerous awards like the Diapason d'Or and five ECHO-Klassik Prizes.
Compositional Technique
Haydn focused on new elements like sonata form, developing themes and counter-themes, and creating tension through rhythmic surprises such as unexpected bar extensions or displaced accents.
Composition History
The string quartet genre, still important in music today, originated more or less by chance when a nobleman in Lower Austria wanted his employees to make music.
Compositional Technique
Haydn's early string quartets, including those in Opus 2, are based on the divertimento form, featuring a serenade in the middle, preceded and followed by minuets and trios.
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Haydn: Prussian Quartets, Op. 50 Nos. 4-6 (On Period Instruments)
Pleyel: String Quartets, B. 340-342
Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 9
Haydn: String Quartets Op. 55, Nos. 1 - 3
Schubert: "Death and the Maiden"; String Quartet D 353
