Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 77 No. 1 in G major

Amazingly, this CD completes this Haydn project by the Auryn Quartet: 68 quartets, 75 recording days within a period of two years. The ensemble did have many of the Haydn quartets in their repertoire, but certainly not all of them, so this series was quite a challenge. They have every right to be proud of completing such a mammoth task so successfully.

This award winning young Italian quartet has performed in the world’s major concert halls. They continue their quest to refine their performances and aim to bring audiences closer to the inner beauty of music.

This series features the less well-known works among Haydn’s many quartets. In a short time, the Schuppanzigh Quartet has gained a reputation as one of the leading string quartets using original instruments, through exciting interpretations of the classic quartet literature as well as the performance of interesting new discoveries.

The string quartet is one of the musical forms which originated in the Classical period and Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven are regarded as the fathers of the genre. This delightful programme is brought together by the Royal String Quartet, who have performed with such artists as Angela Hewitt, Thomas Allen, Mark Padmore and graced many UK concert venues including the Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and Bridgewater Hall.

Joseph Haydn’s remarkable series of 68 string quartets encompasses, in effect, his entire compositional career. The ten works together comprising Op. 1, 2 and ‘Op. 0’ date from his 20s (c. 1758 – 1761); and the final nine works of Op. 76 (1797), 77 (1799) and 103 (1803) were written after the ‘London’ Symphonies, and in close proximity to his oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons.

The stylistic journey Haydn took from beginning to end is striking indeed, on account of the extended time period involved and the inevitable changes in musical taste across Europe. The Amsterdam String Quartet is one of today’s leading period instrument string quartets. The ensemble is specialized in the repertoire of the golden age of the string quartet: from 1762 to 1847. The Amsterdam String Quartet performs the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Mendelssohn as well as the finest works of their lesser known contemporaries.

Its members are all internationally respected specialists at the forefront of the early music scene. In 2009 the quartet will embark on an extensive Haydn project which will include performing all the string quartets. Seminars, master classes at leading institutions and research in collaboration with the world's leading Haydn scholars will be presented by means of an interactive website dedicated to the string quartets of Haydn.