The 6 "Haydn" Quartets Nos. 14 - 19

Abstract

The penultimate of a group of six quartets composed between 1782 and 1785, the A major String Quartet (for two violins, viola and cello) was entered in Mozart's thematic catalog on January 10, 1785, just four days before the final work, the Quartet in C, K. 465. In a letter to his daughter Nannerl dated February 16th, Leopold, the composer's father, remarks on the "very fine quarters" Mozart now occupies, continuing with an account of the success of his son's latest series of subscription concerts. "On Saturday evening," continues Leopold, "Herr Josef Haydn...came to see us and the new quartets were performed, or rather the three new ones which Wolfgang has added to the other three which we have already. The new ones are somewhat easier, but at the same time excellent compositions. Haydn said to me 'Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.'"

Behind this famous anecdote lies a friendship founded on mutual respect and admiration, on Mozart's part engendered to no small degree by recognition of the unique role played by his older colleague in the development of the string quartet. Haydn's own set of six String Quartets, Op. 33 is widely recognized as inspiring Mozart's interest in the medium. The two had first met shortly after Mozart settled in Vienna in 1781, the same year Op. 33 first appeared in print. Mozart doubtless had early practical experience of playing the older man's influential works with their composer—the two composers are known to have played quartets together. It is, therefore, not surprising that when Mozart came to have his six quartets published in Vienna by Artaria later in 1785 they bore a famous dedication entrusting them to the protection of his "dear friend Haydn."

The dedication also makes reference to the "long and laborious endeavor" the quartets had cost Mozart, a highly significant admission from one of the most fluently equipped of all composers. Despite Leopold's suggestion that the last three quartets (K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) are "somewhat easier," the signs are that K. 464 caused Mozart more trouble than any of the other quartets. The autograph manuscript shows that the construction of the Andante's set of variations underwent changes, and there are also uncharacteristic alterations in the Minuet. A fragmentary Rondo (K. Anh. 72) is probably a discarded initial attempt at the final movement. There is, needless to say, scant evidence of these problems in the finished result, Beethoven's favorite among the "Haydn" set. The opening Allegro is a sonata-form movement of both grace and power, while the variations that form the Andante are richly varied. Both the Minuet and final Allegro non troppo are notable for their economy of thematic material, a trait characteristic of both Haydn and Beethoven.