Joseph Haydn: String Quartets Vol. 20 – Leipziger Streichquartett

France was on the brink of revolution and Haydn was at the height of his international fame.

These famboyant quartets were written especially for the lucrative Parisian market, where quatuor brillant was becoming increasingly popular. The style is dazzlingly virtuosic and Stefan Arzberger shines with Haydn’s most brilliant, high- fying, concerto- like passages, leading this remarkable ensemble’s captivating interpretation with admirable aplomb.

Haydn knew the Parisians loved sensational soloistic displays and he could incorporate these into his quartets without sacrifcing depth or complexity. Quartet No. 2 in particular has an intensity that captures the mood of the exceptional era in which it was composed. Harmonically it anticipates Beethoven with its dramatic impact and astonishing boldness.

Above the sombre chorale-like theme of the C minor Adagio in Quartet No. 2, the frst violin weaves impassioned, Gypsy-infused fantasies. Like the other slow movements of opus 54, the expressiveness is immensely gratifying and soul- soothing. The Allegretto of Quartet No. 1 is siciliana- like and enigmatic, combining nostalgia and regret in a mood both sophisticated and pensive.

Haydn had entrusted his manuscripts to Johann Tost, entrepreneur, scam artist & shrewd arms dealer, to sell to a publisher in Paris. He enquired “Now I would ask you to tell me candidly just how, and in what fashion, Herr Tost behaved in Paris. Did he have an ‘amour’ there? And did he also sell you the 6 quartets, and for what sum?” As a sign of his gratitude, Haydn dedicated his opus 64 to Tost (although later retracting it), and so along with opp.54 & 55 they became known as the “Tost Quartets”.