Album insights
After an intense period of composing quartets between 1769 and 1772, which culminated in the monumental op. 20, Haydn took a break from writing string quartets for almost a decade. His attention shifted to composing and staging operas, mainly comedies, for the Esterházy court. When Haydn finally composed the next cycle of quartets in 1781, he offered potential subscribers the privilege of owning the manuscripts months before their public release at a price of six ducats per work. At a time when the string quartet was competing with the symphony for prestige, Haydn could provide something desirable while securing a lucrative side income.
Among the three marketing letters from December 1781, one was addressed to the renowned Zurich theologian and philosopher Johann Caspar Lavater. Haydn announced to Lavater that the quartets were composed in a "wholly new and particular manner" and emphasized that it had been ten years since he last wrote any quartets. There was a threat to this plan by the Viennese publisher Artaria, who later announced in December that the quartets would be published within four weeks. To avoid upsetting the subscribers, Haydn persuaded Artaria to postpone the publication to April 1782. When the quartets were released as op. 33, they appeared in a different order initially, with the G major quartet (No. 5) as the first and ending with the B major quartet (No. 4). Haydn had also sold the quartets to Schmitt in Amsterdam and Hummel, who had branches in Amsterdam and Berlin. Haydn had become a savvy businessman, skillfully navigating through awkward situations and justifying his actions. The well-known order with the B minor quartet at the beginning was from the edition published by Sieber in Paris in early 1783. At least one of the quartets from op. 33 was performed on December 25, 1781, in Vienna in the chambers of the visiting Russian Grand Duke Paul, later Tsar Paul I. Haydn later dedicated his cycle to the Grand Duke, leading to the nickname "Russian Quartets."
Haydn's "wholly new and particular manner" was seen initially as a marketing trick, but op. 33 indeed showcased new features compared to his previous works, as expected after a decade. Unlike op. 20, the quartets in op. 33 had an overall lighter and more "popular" tone (reflecting Haydn's focus on the international market), were less scholarly (no fugues), and possessed a livelier, more flowing rhythmic sense refined from his comic operas. The ideas seemed to effortlessly and organically flow into each other—described as "monothematic plurality." Particularly noteworthy was how the instruments in op. 33 seamlessly exchanged roles, moving almost imperceptibly between background and foreground, theme and accompaniment. This emphasized Goethe's famous characterization of a string quartet as "entertainment for four rational people." The quartets quickly circulated throughout Europe as planned, influencing Mozart's dedication of six quartets to Haydn in 1785.
In some Scherzos—Haydn named the minuets of the op. 33 quartets this way—a comedic spirit prevailed, leading to some early editions labeling them as "Gli Scherzi." Even the final movements, with the exception of No. 1 in sonata form, displayed comedic traits. However, playful banter or slapstick humor remained distant from the overall picture. In No. 1 in B minor, the humorous element unfolded intellectually and often unsettlingly. The Cello appeared unaware of a key change, playing an opening phrase as if still in D major, contrasting with the other instruments transitioning smoothly to B minor. Only with a lively new march theme in bar 11 was B minor unequivocally established. After a pause, the "second theme" turned out to be an extended version of the peculiar beginning, now clearly in D major, restoring the stability sought at the start. As with late Haydn compositions, the recapitulation expanded and reinterpreted themes as much as it repeated them. Instead of repeating the "What key are we in?" joke, Haydn innovative neared the hesitant main theme in B minor for the first time, infusing unexpected drama from a seemingly trivial two-note figure before building up to a disobedient climax of the march theme.
Similarly to Nos. 2, 3, and 4 of op. 33, Haydn decided to follow a broad first movement with a menuet/scherzo instead of a slower movement. In the Amsterdam edition by Joseph Schmitt from 1782, which this recording consulted, the scherzos of Nos. 5 and 6 were also placed second, ahead of the slow movements. The scherzo of No. 1 is designated Allegro di molto and stands as the fastest in the cycle, leaving the aristocratic minuet ancestry breathless. The main section showcased sharp imitations, feverish tonal repetitions in the first violin determined to follow its path, and explosive dynamic contrasts—a section possibly intriguing for a young Beethoven. The trio in B major provides harmonic relief with delightful duets between the upper and lower instrumental pairs.
While most slow movements in op. 33 are dreamy, the Andante in D major of No. 1 maintains the playful character of the second movement. The driving force of the movement is the strutting arpeggio theme, announced by the first violin, holding a certain comical flair due to its somewhat self-satisfied nature. A role exchange occurs, a characteristic of op. 33, where the cello takes on the theme before the first violin reasserts its dominance gracefully but assertively. A chromatically piquant second theme played in empty octaves by viola and cello (structural boldness Mozart would not risk) leads into a beautiful cadenza over a pedal point of the cello, possibly influencing Mendelssohn in his minuet from the "Italian" Symphony. The movement emanates Haydn's signature blend of lyrical grace and quirky eccentricity.
Eccentricity also characterizes the final movement, where a dark, restless main theme on the violin's low G string contrasts with frenzied, gypsy-like figurations. Both elements engage in tense imitation during the development. While most final movements in Haydn's late works start in minor and end cheerily in major, here the reprise cuts through B minor ending with a laconic coda, compressing and distorting the main theme.
The comical decay of the theme in the lively Tarantella finale of No. 2 in E-flat major, teasing listeners with multiple fake endings, only to resume and conclude by softly repeating the opening phrase, earned it the nickname "The Joke." Haydn reportedly composed the ending in this manner to win a bet, claiming that ladies always started talking before the music ended. His audacious trickery remains capable of bewildering listeners to this day. (Clara Schumann recounted how she burst into laughter after a performance by the Joachim Quartet.)
The relaxed first movement captures the free-spirited exchange of a conversation, a hallmark of the op. 33 quartet cycle, with practically everything evolving from the genial opening figures—a moment illustrating the famous Haydn monothematic technique, showcasing that a single idea is enough to craft a diverse and original movement. In the development, the opening theme is adroitly woven into a tight polyphonic web showcasing the mixed intricacy and airy lightness typical of op. 33.
The scherzo represents an Austrian peasant dance, a Schuhplattler, featuring heavy chord repetitions accompanying foot-stomping. Lively rural energy blends with Haydn's humor—interrupting the expected 4+4 bar phrasing with a chromatic-tinged two-bar violin phrase at the start. Mozart appears to adopt this movement as a model for the minuet of his E-flat major Quartet, KV 428. In the trio, the first violin provides a lively imitation of an Austrian village fiddler, complete with charming, vulgar glissandi, avoided by meticulous 19th-century editors.
Amid the frivolity, the third movement, Largo e sostenuto, brings a sense of solemnity. It starts—for the first time in a Haydn quartet—with a solemn duet between viola and cello before the two violins repeat the melody, intermittently muted by somnolent cello growls. With each reappearance of this beautiful melody punctuated by rhetorical outbursts, Haydn enriches the texture, first in a trio with the second violin taking the melody, then in full quartet sound, where the viola weaves expressive counterpoint from the growling sixteenths.
The delightful first movement of Quartet No. 3 in C major (known as the "Bird Quartet") presents one of Haydn's most enchanting beginnings. Starting with a gentle pulsation between the second violin and viola, the first violin delicately introduces a soft, sustained high G, growing increasingly animated (suggesting birdcalls) and then plunging two octaves down against a passionate ascending cello line. C major appears firmly established, but Haydn undermines this certainty by repeating the same in D minor before sliding back to the tonic. The chirping short violin figures in bar 3 permeate most of the structure, especially in the second theme, where motif fragments ultimately merge into a more or less rounded melody. During the development, these birdcalls suddenly take on a mysterious tone in a sequence of rubbing pianissimo halts—a striking moment within this quart