Quartetto Italiano - Haydn- String Quartets, Op. 76 Nos. 2 "Fifths" & 4 "Sunrise" (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

The six String Quartets, Op. 76 by Joseph Haydn were composed in 1797 or 1798 and dedicated to the Hungarian count Joseph Georg von Erdődy 1754–1824). They form the last complete set of string quartets that Haydn composed. At the time of the commission, Haydn was employed at the court of Prince Nicolaus Esterházy II and was composing the oratorio The Creation as well as Princess Maria Hermenegild Esterházy's annual mass.

The Op. 76 quartets are among Haydn's most ambitious chamber works, deviating more than their predecessors from standard sonata form and each emphasizing their thematic continuity through the seamless and near-continual exchange of motifs between instruments. In addition to not using the expected sonata form in some of the string quartets' first movements, Haydn employs uncommon forms in other movements such as a canon, a fantasy and an alternativo. He also plays with tempo markings, key signatures and many sections emphasizing the viola and cello. Charles Burney wrote to Haydn praising these innovations: …they are full of invention, fire, good taste, and new effects, and seem the production, not of a sublime genius who has written so much and so well already, but of one of highly-cultivated talents, who had expended none of his fire before.

The Quartetto Italiano was a string quartet founded in Reggio Emilia in 1945. They made their debut in 1945 in Carpi when all four players were still in their early 20's. They were originally named Nuovo Quartetto Italiano before dropping the "Nuovo" tag in 1951. They are particularly noted for their recording of the complete cycle of Beethoven string quartets, made between 1967 and 1975. The quartet disbanded in 1980.

TRACKLIST

1. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76 No. 2, Hob. III:76 "Fifths": I. Allegro
2. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76 No. 2, Hob. III:76 "Fifths": II. Andante o più tosto allegretto
3. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76 No. 2, Hob. III:76 "Fifths": III. Minuetto
4. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 76 No. 2, Hob. III:76 "Fifths": IV. Vivace assai
5. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": I. Allegro con spirito
6. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": II. Adagio
7. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": III. Menuetto. Allegro
8. Quartetto Italiano - String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": IV. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo



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