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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Haydn, Franz Joseph |
|---|---|
| Work: | String Quartet No. 66 in G Major, Op. 77, No. 1, Hob.III:81, "Lobkowitz" |
| Year Composed: | 1799 |
| Instrumentation: | vI, vII, va, vc |
| Publishers: |
Ernst Eulenburg Universal Edition |
| Duration: | 00:24:00 |
| Period: | Classical (1750-1830) |
| Work Category: | Chamber Music |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The two string quartets that form Opus 77, the last completed quartets by Haydn, were written in 1799 and dedicated to Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz, who had commissioned a set of six. They were published by Artaria in Vienna in or before September 1802. It is supposed that Haydn failed to complete the set because of the radical changes in the form that Beethoven's Opus 18 quartets for Lobkowitz seemed to suggest. It may be remarked that Beethoven too was very wary of seeming to challenge Haydn on his own ground, witness the Mass in C he wrote for the Esterhazys, where he expressed fears of being seen as unable to rival his former teacher.
The Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1, starts with a clearly enunciated first subject over a repeated crotchet rhythm. A second subject appears, started by the second violin with viola triplet accompaniment, leading to a concluding section in triplets; the whole exposition is then repeated. These motivic elements appear in the central development and its exploration of different tonalities, before the principal theme returns in recapitulation. The E flat major slow movement opens with a strong motif that has suggestions of C minor in its first three notes, immediately dispelled in the second measure. The cello makes use of this motif, which has a major part to play in all that follows. The Minuet, with its Hungarian gypsy or Croatian connotations, is no longer a courtly dance, but, marked Presto, demands one beat in a bar. It frames a contrasting E flat Trio. All instruments join in a statement of the opening of the final Presto with a principal subject from which the second subject is derived and which provides the substance of a movement, suggested in the first three notes.
Writer: Keith Anderson
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