Joseph Haydn’s remarkable Opus 20 quartets are rightfully regarded as landmarks in the history of the string quartet development. Throughout these six contrasting quartets the composer employs compositional techniques that were to shape and define the musical form of the future.
We can hear a change in style from the lightness and wit of his previous quartets to a mood of emotional intensity and darker musical imagery.
The six Opus 20 works are all individually exquisite masterpieces and demonstrate a composer at the height of creative maturity. They display an astonishing consistency of excellence and a huge variety of form and style, contrasting dynamics and relentless energy.
Increasingly the textures Of these compositions are infused with a sense of drama, and the cello is often freed from its basso continuo roots to a position of great prominence.
The Chiaroscuro Quartet in a discussion + performance of these works:
