String Quartet in B-Flat Major

From small acorns, great oaks grow—and this modest little piece in B flat was a very promising start indeed. Composed in the late 1750s and published in 1762, this is more a “divertimento” than a string quartet: with all the movements in the same key; five rather than four of them; and the airy style of 18th-century “light music”. This being Haydn, there are of course flashes of inspiration and hints of future delights to come. The galloping “Presto” opening, with horn-like calls in the strings, naturally suggested the nickname “La Chasse”—The Hunt. An elegant pair of minuets follow, the second with some witty plucking effects. The slow “Adagio” is the core of the work, beginning with a hymn-like theme, which in later years Haydn would develop into a whole movement; here it’s followed by a beautiful, Mozartian melody decorated by the first violin. A scampering finale rounds things off with a burst of puckish optimism.