String Quartet in F Major

The 18 works of Haydn’s Op. 9 (1769), Op. 17 (1771) and Op. 20 (1772) mark the coming of age of the string quartet. They were written in a sudden burst of creative activity, perhaps encouraged by the presence of the gifted violinist Luigi Tomasini, leader of the Esterházy orchestra, as well as the principal cellist Joseph Weigl. With Haydn playing second violin, the Esterházy quartet was almost complete. The String Quartet in F Major (Op. 17 No. 2) opens with just the kind of flamboyant, first-violin-dominated writing that Tomasini might have inspired, though to ensure both social and musical harmony, Haydn introduced plenty of interest into the lower parts too. The second movement (“Minuet poco allegretto”) begins with a rustic two-voice minuet, though Haydn later broadens out both the harmony and musical argument. The tender slow movement (“Adagio”) sounds as though it really belongs to a violin concerto, while the finale (“Allegro di molto”) is like a conversation between friends—constantly returning to the opening topic and rethinking it.