Haydn: String Quartets, part 1
For decades, I've been listening to the string quartets of Franz Joseph Haydn . However, I completely immersed myself into them around 15 years ago. I bought the complete recordings and delved into them deeper than ever. In fact, as I write this, I'm listening to string quartet Op. 76, No. 4. Haydn is a hero of mine, not only for his work, but also for inventing the string quartet format. There were various quartet formats prior to Haydn, but he codified the string quartet as we know it today: 1st and 2nd violins, viola, and cello. In the process, he also went a long way toward establishing form. Haydn composed between 68 and 83 string quartets . The number isn't clearly defined, as some of the works are in dispute or spurious. Haydn was the definition of prolific. For the past couple of years, I've been slowly making my way through a book that's a formal and theoretical analysis of his quartets; the book is titled, The Stri...
