String Quartet in G major Op.77 No.1 (1799)

Although Haydn was unable to finish the set of quartets he had undertaken to write for Prince Lobkowitz in 1799, there is no sign of decline in the two he did complete. Indeed, he wrote no better first movement than the Allegro moderato of Op.77 No.1. Immmediately attractive for its cheerful march-like main theme, it finds its long-term interest is its liberated construction. The extraordinary feature of the rest of the work is the heroic role awarded to first violin. As the unison opening of the Adagio indicates, the short and simple main theme is open to every one. But when it comes to elaborating on it the first violin is the prima donna chosen to do it. In the Menuetto, a scherzo in all but name, the first violin has to take the joke of being asked to jump through embarrassingly wide leaps and to stretch for notes at the top of its range. It is rewarded in the last movement by being presented as a virtuoso distraction from the contrapuntal enterprise of the solitary but tirelessly agile main theme.

The last string-quartet commission Haydn was able to accept came from Prince Lobkowitz in 1799, when he had every reason to believe that he would complete it. In fact, in spite of being involved with The Seasons as well, he finished two of the Lobkowitz Quartets before the end of the year. His work on the late oratorios and the last three Masses did, however, take its toll and, having been distracted from starting on the next Quartet until 1803, he found he had the strength to write no more than the two middle movements (which were published three years later as Op.103).

There is no sign of any such decline in either of the two Quartets Haydn completed in 1799. Indeed, he wrote no better first movement than the Allegro moderato of Op.77 No.1. Its immediate attraction is its march-like main theme in G major – with its abrupt changes of colour and its cheerful exchanges between the first violin and its companions – while the long-term interest is its liberated construction. Although the second subject is given minimal attention in the exposition, it is this theme that ultimately determines the shape of the movement by leading a spontaneously extended development section back into G major and so setting up the harmonic context for the recapitulation – from which, in compensation, it is rigorously excluded.

Another extraordinary feature of the work is the heroic role awarded to first violin in the last three movements. As the unison opening bars indicate, the short and simple main theme is open to every one. But when it comes to elaborating on that thoughtful phrase, as it is repeated at every level of the texture and a variety of harmonies, the first violin is the prima donna chosen to do it. In the Menuetto, a scherzo in all but name, the first violin has to take the joke of being asked to jump through embarrassingly wide leaps and to stretch for notes at the top of its range. It is rewarded in the last movement by being presented as a virtuoso distraction from the contrapuntal enterprise of the solitary but tirelessly agile main theme.