Haydn's Op. 20 quartets, though still labelled 'Divertimento', radically extended the genre's potential beyond mere entertainment by incorporating contrapuntal techniques and expanding emotional range.
Album & Artwork
Johann Julius Hummel, the publisher of Haydn's Op. 20 quartets, adorned his edition with an image of a rising sun, symbolizing the 'dawn of a genre' that became a radiant form of chamber music.
Performer Biography
The Auryn Quartet has performed over 150 string quartets and around 100 chamber music works, demonstrating an unusually wide range of repertoire.
Performer Biography
The Auryn Quartet, founded in 1981, has maintained its original personnel for 27 years, fostering a unique unity of interpretation based on their shared musical experience.
Compositional Technique
Unusually for the time, Haydn chose minor keys for two of the six Op. 20 quartets and incorporated contrapuntal techniques, including fugues, to give each work a unique character.
Critical Reception
Some commentators have criticized Haydn's Op. 20 quartets as interesting but immature experiments, lacking the classical balance found in his later Op. 33 quartets.
Composition History
Haydn's String Quartets Op. 20 marked an early peak in his systematic exploration of the string quartet genre, after which he took a ten-year break from composing quartets.
