Joseph Haydn, 1732-1809

String Quartet in F-minor, Op. 20, No. 5, 1772

According to a list Haydn compiled of those works he considered his “true” string quartets, Op. 20 was his third set of six quartets, preceded by Op. 17 and Op. 9. All three sets were composed between 1769 and 1772, a period of merely three years in which the pioneering Haydn produced eighteen quartets. This burst of creative effort might well be regarded as the most important in the history of the string quartet. Showing a steady progress through Op. 9 and Op. 17 that yielded more than a few outstanding early works in the form, Haydn realized the full bounty of his exploration with Op. 20, six masterpieces conceived as an integrated set immediately regarded as a towering achievement, the very first crucial landmark in the history of the string quartet. « more »