String Quartet in G Major

Fresh from the success of The Creation, in 1799 Haydn agreed to write a set of six quartets for the musical aristocrat Prince Lobkowitz (who had just commissioned Beethoven’s Op. 18 quartets). Having exhausted himself completing The Seasons, Haydn only managed to complete the first two, which were published in 1802 as his Op. 77: Haydn’s final completed works in the medium. In Op. 77 No. 1 in G Major, Haydn’s five decades of experience writing string quartets extends from his long-term fascination with rustic, folky elements, through puckish wit, to his creative obsession with thematic economy. The opening movement has the gait of a religious march which, at the end, Haydn transforms into a tender lyrical melody. The “Adagio” second movement economically revolves around its opening idea and is one of the last of Haydn’s great hymn-like slow movements. The third movement mocks the traditional minuet, and its peasant-dance knees-up tumbles over into the folk-flavoured theme of the finale.