String Quartet in G Major

No collection of 18th-century string quartets is quite as wide-ranging in expression and free in form as the six which make up Haydn’s Op. 76. Composed in the autumn of 1796 for Count Joseph Erdödy, they were to be Haydn’s final completed set. Like many of Haydn’s symphonies of the time, the opening G Major quartet begins with a loud call to attention, reminding us that quartets too were often performed in public. The first movement mixes the popular and sophisticated, keeping the ideas in a constant state of development where nothing is ever just repeated. The slow second movement (“Adagio sostenuto”) begins with one of Haydn’s favourite hymn-like themes: deep and rich, with all four instruments on their lowest string. Though headed “Menuetto”, the third movement is far from a polite dance—more an impish scherzo. The fourth movement (“Allegro ma non troppo”) would have surprised 18th-century audiences with its drama: it was Haydn’s first quartet finale to outweigh the expressive power of the first movement (relenting at the end with a light-hearted polka).