Presents

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The String Quartets Dedicated To Haydn-Part 1 (March 2012)

Joseph Haydn has long been hailed as the first true master of the string quartet. Some have even called him the 'Father of the String Quartet', although, of course, there were many who composed such works before him. Perhaps as much as 100 years before him. Nonetheless, his quartets served as a model and inspiration for many composers. Not only his pupils and but also composers, who had never studied with him, often expressed their indebtedness and admiration by dedicating a set of string quartets to him. The most famous example is Mozart's six "Haydn Quartets" (K.387, 421, 428, 458, 464 & 465) first published in 1785. They were one of the first sets so dedicated. So far we have found the following composers who dedicated works to Haydn:

                      1. Gottlob Bachmann---1 Quartet, Opus 15  published in  1800 in  Augsburg

                    2. Angelo Benincori---6 Quartets,  Opus  8 published in  1812  in Paris

                    3. Johann Brandl---6 Quartets,  Opus 17 published in 1799 in Heilbronn

                    4.  Joseph Eybler---3 Quartets, Opus  1 published in 1794 in Vienna (We offer 2 of these in new editions)

                    5. Ferdinand Fraenzl---3 Quartets, Opus  6 published in 1793

                    6. Franz Grill---3 Quartets, Opus  3 published in 1790 in Offenbach

                    7. Adalbert Gyrowetz---6 Quartets, Opus  2 published in 1789 in Paris

                    8. Peter Hänsel (Haensel)---3 Quartets, Opus  5 published in 1799 in Vienna

                    9. Hyacinthe Jadin---3 Quartets, Opus 1 published in 1795 in Paris (We offer 1 of these in a new edition)

                    10. Otto von Kospoth---6 Quartets,  Opus 8 published in 1789 in Offenbach

                    11. Johann Mederitsch---3 Quartets, Opus  6 published in 1802 in Vienna

                    12. Wolfgang Mozart---6 Quartets, published as Opus 10 (this is before the days of the Koechel catalog) in 1785 in Vienna

                    13. Ignaz Pleyel---6 Quartets, Opus  2 published in 1784 in Vienna

                    14. Felice Radicati---3 Quartets, Opus 16 published in 1807 in Vienna

                    15. Andreas Romberg---3 Quartets, Opus  2 published in 1802 in Bonn

                    16. Bernhard Romberg---3 Quartets, Opus 1 published in 1800 in Paris

                    17. Ferdinand Thieriot---1 Quartet,  Op.93 published in Leipzig circa 1911 (brought to our attention by blog Reader Steve Jones)

                    18. Edmund von Weber---3 Quartets, Opus  8 published in 1804 in Augsburg

                    19, Johan Wikmanson---3 Quartets,  Opus  1 published in 1801 in Stockholm (We offer all 3 of these in new editions)

Virtually all of these works were published in Haydn's lifetime. And while most were published by composers who had lived in Vienna, several were published abroad in France and the various German principalities, a testament to Haydn's fame. In addition, Haydn was the recipient of many dedications of works other than string quartets, such as Beethoven's Op.2 piano sonatas. And his quartets also served as a model for many other composers who came after him. Perhaps the most famous example is that of Haydn's Kaiser or Emperor quartet, Op.76 No.3. Its slow movement is a theme---the Habsburg (Austrian) national anthem from 1797-1919, Gott erhalte, Gott beschutze, Unser Kaiser, Unser Land---and a set of several variations. The Op.9 No.1 String Quartet of George Onslow is nicked named "God Save the King". (Available from Edition Silvertrust in a new edition) Composed around 1814, its slow movement takes as its theme, the British national anthem, God Save the King,. Several variations follow. Clearly, the slow movement of Haydn's Op.76 No.3 quartet served as the model. Another example was Wenzel (Vaclav) Veit's Op.3 string quartet where the slow movement takes the melody God Save the Tsar as its theme and then follows it with a set of variations.

MORE ABOUT THESE COMPOSERS AND THEIR WORKS IN PART 2 OF THIS ARTICLE