Joseph Haydn - String Quartets, Vol. IV, Op. 20 (Sun Quartets)

String Quartets Book XI op. 77 und 103-These are the last of the nearly seventy quartets in Haydn?s oeuvre. Originally he intended to write a set of six quartets as so often in the past but at the time they were written in 1803 Haydn?s healthwas so poor that he could not fully satisfy the commission from Prince Lobkowitz. Instead he published only two complete quartets as op. 77. Later he allowed an incomplete work consisting of two middle movements to appear as op.103 adding to the print the portentous words: ?Gone is all my strength old and weak am I?. Musically however these quartets are anything but weak: they represent the aged composer virtually at the zenith of his powers.Haydn even went so far as to call op. 77 no. 2 his ?most beautiful string quartet?.

String Quartets Book IV op. 20-The preface by Christin Heitmann provides illuminating background information. Haydn did not assign the nickname ?Sun Quartets?: it alludes to an edition of the time in which the title page wasdecorated with a rising sun. The Quartets op. 20 are the last series in a group of earlier string quartets but are clearly ahead of their time. The demanding fugues which close three of the six quartets are aparticular structural feature.The study edition HN 9208 complements the parts of the String Quartets op. 20.

With Critical Report-Critical notes on Joseph Haydn's String Quartets Op.20 And Op.33 as compiled by Georg Leder.

Tost Quartets-The chamber music world has been eagerly awaiting this all of Haydn's string quartets are finally available in Henle Urtext quality! The last edition to be finished contains the String Quartets op. 54/55 sometimes also known asthe 'First Tost Quartets'. Contrary to what the opus numbers might suggest it is a cohesive cycle of six works. Mozart's influence is felt more deeply the forms are more diverse and the first Violin is every now and thenrequired to do real acrobatics. In this volume in particular several treasures can be found that are not often played.