Haydn composed the series of six quartets designated as Opus 20 in 1772. This group of of works finds the composer delving deeper, intensifying the music’s emotional expression and adding layers of complexity not found in his previous quartets.
This is the moment when the string quartet leaves the traces of its lighter origins behind and becomes a full-fledged genre of serious instrumental music to rank alongside the classical symphony.
As the great musicologist Donald Tovey put it, “With Op. 20 the historical development of Haydn’s quartets reaches its goal; and further progress is not progress in any historical sense, but simply the difference between one masterpiece and the next.”
Here is the Atenea Quartet to perform this music for you. And the third movement, Adagio, is – for me – the most special:
