Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 71
Composer Joseph Haydn is often called “Pappa Haydn” because of his amazing positive impact on the development of the string quartet. The music which Mozart and Beethoven composed were certainly influenced by Haydn’s great strides in this chamber music form.
On this CD, we get the following wonderful examples of Haydn’s genius:
Haydn:
- String Quartet, Op. 71 No. 1 in B flat major
- String Quartet, Op. 71 No. 2 in D major
- String Quartet, Op. 71 No. 3 in E flat major
Performed by the Prazak Quartet
Haydn conceived these three first “London quartets” specifically for public performances, in the large hall of Hannover Square where impresario Johann Peter Salomon used to organize chamber and orchestral concerts.
These concerts made Haydn an international music superstar and brought about a definite change in the composer’s style. The emotional, virtuosic and powerful music found in these quartets forecast the spirit of the Romantic period.
Here is the Prazak Quartet playing the minuet from Haydn’s Quartet Op. 96:
And next, the Prazak Quartet plays the “American Quartet” by Antonin Dvorak:
Tags: Haydn, Prazak Quartet