The Pražák Quartet, one of today's leading international chamber music ensembles, was founded in 1972 by students at the Prague Conservatory and has won several international awards.
Compositional Technique
From Op. 50 onwards, Haydn established a rule for the minuet to follow the second movement, resulting in a fast-slow-minuet-fast sequence for all quartets in this set.
Composition History
Haydn initially intended to dedicate these six quartets to King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia, who was a cellist and proficient quartet player.
Historical Context
Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia, for whom these quartets were intended, also commissioned Mozart's last three string quartets and had Beethoven dedicate his two cello sonatas, Op. 5, to him.
Composer Biography
Haydn demonstrated shrewd business practices by selling these quartets a second time to the London publisher William Forster, after already having an agreement with Artaria.
Composition History
The opus number 50 for these quartets was assigned by the publisher Artaria, not by Haydn himself, and they were published in December 1787.
Compositional Technique
A key characteristic of Haydn's Op. 50 quartets is the prominence of monothematic writing, where the thematic material is conceived as a whole, generally avoiding contrasting themes.
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Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 18 No. 4; Mozart: String Quartet No. 23 in F Major, K. 590 "Prussian No. 3"
