List of string quartets by Joseph Haydn explained

Joseph Haydn wrote sixty-eight string quartets. (The number was previously thought to be eighty-three, but this includes some arrangements and spurious works.) They are usually referred to by their opus numbers, not Anthony van Hoboken's catalogue numbers or their publication order in the First Haydn Edition (FHE).

Opus 1 (1755–57)^[1]

Quartet No. 1 in B major ("La Chasse"), Op. 1, No. 1, FHE No. 52, Hoboken No. III:1
Quartet No. 2 in E major, Op. 1, No. 2, FHE No. 53, Hoboken No. III:2
Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 1, No. 3, FHE No. 54, Hoboken No. III:3
Quartet No. 4 in G major, Op. 1, No. 4, FHE No. 55, Hoboken No. III:4
Quartet No. 5 in E major, Op. 1, No. 0, Hoboken No. II:6 (also referred to as Opus 0)
Quartet in B major, Op. 1, No. 5, FHE No. 56, Hoboken No. III:5 (later found to be the Symphony A, Hob. I/107)
Quartet No. 6 in C major, Op. 1, No. 6, FHE No. 57, Hoboken No. III:6

Opus 2 (1757–59)^[2]

The two quartets numbered 3 and 5 are spurious arrangements by an unknown hand.

Quartet No. 7 in A major, Op. 2, No. 1, FHE No. 58, Hoboken No. III:7
Quartet No. 8 in E major, Op. 2, No. 2, FHE No. 59, Hoboken No. III:8 (often includes a classical guitar)
Quartet in E major, Op. 2, No. 3, FHE No. 60 (arrangement of Cassation in E-flat major, Hob. II:21), Hoboken No. III:9
Quartet No. 9 in F major, Op. 2, No. 4, FHE No. 61, Hoboken No. III:10
Quartet in D major, Op. 2, No. 5, FHE No. 62 (arrangement of Cassation in D major, Hob. II:22), Hoboken No. III:11
Quartet No. 10 in B major, Op. 2, No. 6, FHE No. 63, Hoboken No. III:12

Opus 3 (spurious)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 3 (attributed to Haydn).

This set of quartets is now commonly attributed to Romanus Hoffstetter, though there is no universal agreement on this. According to the scholar Allan Badley, "The works were omitted from the Entwurf-Katalog, the running catalogue of his works he (Haydn) kept from 1765 until after the London visits, but found their way into the Haydn-Verzeichnis prepared in 1805 under the composer’s direct supervision by his faithful factotum Joseph Elssler. Haydn also accepted the six works as genuine in the edition of his complete string quartets published by Ignaz Pleyel. Unfortunately, both strands of evidence are not beyond questioning." Badley goes on to say "The meagre bibliographical evidence has been painstakingly sifted and the works themselves subjected to every kind of analytical technique known to musicology. Haydn’s authorship still remains doubtful but so too does that of Pater Romanus Hoffstetter the most commonly favoured alternative."^[3]

In the 1980s, Scott Fruehwald claimed to show that the quartets were not by Haydn, based on stylistic analysis..^[4] ^[5] He also concluded that only the first two quartets were by Hoffstetter.

Quartet in E major, Op. 3, No. 1, FHE No. 64 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:13
Quartet in C major, Op. 3, No. 2, FHE No. 65 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:14
Quartet in G major, Op. 3, No. 3, FHE No. 66 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:15
Quartet in B major, Op. 3, No. 4, FHE No. 67 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:16
Quartet in F major, Op. 3, No. 5, FHE No. 68 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:17
Quartet in A major, Op. 3, No. 6, FHE No. 69 (spurious), Hoboken No. III:18

Opus 9 (1769)

Quartet No. 11 in D minor, Op. 9, No. 4, FHE No. 16, Hoboken No. III:22
Quartet No. 12 in C major, Op. 9, No. 1, FHE No. 7, Hoboken No. III:19
Quartet No. 13 in G major, Op. 9, No. 3, FHE No. 9, Hoboken No. III:21
Quartet No. 14 in E major, Op. 9, No. 2, FHE No. 8, Hoboken No. III:20
Quartet No. 15 in B major, Op. 9, No. 5, FHE No. 17, Hoboken No. III:23
Quartet No. 16 in A major, Op. 9, No. 6, FHE No. 18, Hoboken No. III:24

Opus 17 (1771)

Quartet No. 17 in F major, Op. 17, No. 2, FHE No. 2, Hoboken No. III:26
1. Moderato
2. Menuetto: Allegretto
3. Adagio
4. Finale: Allegro di molto
Quartet No. 18 in E major, Op. 17, No. 1, FHE No. 1, Hoboken No. III:25
1. Moderato

\layout

1. Menuetto: Allegretto
2. Adagio
3. Finale: Presto
Quartet No. 19 in C minor, Op. 17, No. 4, FHE No. 4, Hoboken No. III:28
Quartet No. 20 in D major, Op. 17, No. 6, FHE No. 6, Hoboken No. III:30
Quartet No. 21 In E major, Op. 17, No. 3, FHE No. 3, Hoboken No. III:27
Quartet No. 22 in G major, Op. 17, No. 5, FHE No. 5, Hoboken No. III:29

Opus 20, the "Sun" quartets (1772)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 20 (Haydn). The nickname "Sun" refers to the image of a rising sun on the cover page of the 1779 Hummel edition, the most widely-distributed at the time.

Quartet No. 23 in F minor, Op. 20, No. 5, FHE No. 47, Hoboken No. III:35
Quartet No. 24 in A major, Op. 20, No. 6, FHE No. 48, Hoboken No. III:36
Quartet No. 25 in C major, Op. 20, No. 2, FHE No. 44, Hoboken No. III:32
Quartet No. 26 in G minor, Op. 20, No. 3, FHE No. 45, Hoboken No. III:33
Quartet No. 27 in D major, Op. 20, No. 4, FHE No. 46, Hoboken No. III:34
Quartet No. 28 in E major, Op. 20, No. 1, FHE No. 43, Hoboken No. III:31

Opus 33, the "Russian" quartets (1781)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 33 (Haydn).

Quartet No. 29 in G major ("How Do You Do?"), Op. 33, No. 5, FHE No. 74, Hoboken No. III:41
Quartet No. 30 in E major ("The Joke"), Op. 33, No. 2, FHE No. 71, Hoboken No. III:38
Quartet No. 31 in B minor, Op. 33, No. 1, FHE No. 70, Hoboken No. III:37
Quartet No. 32 in C major ("The Bird"), Op. 33, No. 3, FHE No. 72, Hoboken No. III:39
Quartet No. 33 in D major, Op. 33, No. 6, FHE No. 75, Hoboken No. III:42
Quartet No. 34 in B major, Op. 33, No. 4, FHE No. 73, Hoboken No. III:40

Opus 42 (1785)

Quartet No. 35 in D minor, Op. 42, FHE No. 15, Hoboken No. III:43
1. Andante ed innocentemente

\layout

1. Menuetto: Allegretto
2. Adagio e cantabile
3. Finale: Presto

Opus 50, the "Prussian" quartets (1787)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 50 (Haydn).

Quartet No. 36 in B major, Op. 50, No. 1, FHE No. 10, Hoboken No. III:44
Quartet No. 37 in C major, Op. 50, No. 2, FHE No. 11, Hoboken No. III:45
Quartet No. 38 in E major, Op. 50, No. 3, FHE No. 12, Hoboken No. III:46
Quartet No. 39 in F minor, Op. 50, No. 4, FHE No. 25, Hoboken No. III:47
Quartet No. 40 in F major ("Dream"), Op. 50, No. 5, FHE No. 26, Hoboken No. III:48
Quartet No. 41 in D major ("The Frog"), Op. 50, No. 6, FHE No. 27, Hoboken No. III:49

Opus 51 (1787)

The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross, Op. 51 (transcription of work written for orchestra), Hob. No. III:50–56

Opus 54, 55, the "Tost" quartets, sets I & II (1788)

Named after Johann Tost, a violinist in the Esterhazy orchestra from 1783 to 1789.^[6]

Quartet No. 42 in C major, Op. 54, No. 2, FHE No. 20, Hoboken No. III:57

1. Vivace
  \relative g
2. Adagio
  \relative c'
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative e'
4. Finale: Adagio – Presto – Adagio
  \relative g
Quartet No. 43 in G major, Op. 54, No. 1, FHE No. 19, Hoboken No. III:58
1. Allegro con brio
  \relative d'
2. Allegretto
  \relative c'
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative d'
4. Finale: Presto
  \relative b'
Quartet No. 44 in E major, Op. 54, No. 3, FHE No. 21, Hoboken No. III:59
1. Allegro

\new StaffGroup << \new Staff \relative e \new Staff >>

1. Largo cantabile
  \relative e
2. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative dis
3. Finale: Presto
  \relative gis'
Quartet No. 45 in A major, Op. 55, No. 1, FHE No. 22, Hoboken No. III:60
1. Allegro
  \relative a'
2. Adagio cantabile
  \relative a'
3. Menuetto
  \relative cis
4. Finale: Vivace
  \relative b
Quartet No. 46 in F minor ("Razor"), Op. 55, No. 2, FHE No. 23, Hoboken No. III:61
1. Andante o più tosto allegretto
  \relative c
2. Allegro
  \relative f
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative c'
4. Finale: Presto
  \relative gis'
Quartet No. 47 in B major, Op. 55, No. 3, FHE No. 24, Hoboken No. III:62
1. Vivace assai
  \relative bes
2. Adagio ma non troppo
  \relative bes'
3. Menuetto
  \relative bes
4. Finale: Presto
  \relative bes

Opus 64, the "Tost" quartets, set III (1790)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 64 (Haydn).

Quartet No. 48 in C major, Op. 64, No. 1, FHE No. 31, Hoboken No. III:65
Quartet No. 49 in B minor, Op. 64, No. 2, FHE No. 32, Hoboken No. III:68
Quartet No. 50 in B major, Op. 64, No. 3, FHE No. 33, Hoboken No. III:67
Quartet No. 51 in G major, Op. 64, No. 4, FHE No. 34, Hoboken No. III:66
Quartet No. 52 in E major, Op. 64, No. 6, FHE No. 36, Hoboken No. III:64
Quartet No. 53 in D major ("The Lark"), Op. 64, No. 5, FHE No. 35, Hoboken No. III:63

Opus 71, 74, the "Apponyi" quartets (1793)

Count Anton Georg Apponyi, a relative of Haydn’s patrons, paid 100 ducats for the privilege of having these quartets publicly dedicated to him.

Quartet No. 54 in B major, Op. 71, No. 1, FHE No. 37, Hoboken No. III:69
1. Allegro
  \relative f
2. Adagio
  \relative f
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative bes
4. (Finale): Vivace
  \relative f'
Quartet No. 55 in D major, Op. 71, No. 2, FHE No. 38, Hoboken No. III:70
1. Adagio – Allegro
  \relative d
2. Adagio (cantabile)
  \relative e'
3. Menuetto: Allegretto
  \relative a'
4. Finale: Allegretto
  \relative a'
Quartet No. 56 in E major, Op. 71, No. 3, FHE No. 39, Hoboken No. III:71
1. Vivace
  \relative g
2. Andante con moto
  \relative f'
3. Menuetto
  \relative bes'
4. Finale: Vivace
  \relative as'
Quartet No. 57 in C major, Op. 74, No. 1, FHE No. 28, Hoboken No. III:72
1. Allegro (moderato)
  \relative b'
2. Andantino (grazioso)
  \relative d'
3. Menuetto: Allegro
  \relative g
4. Finale: Vivace
  \relative c
Quartet No. 58 in F major, Op. 74, No. 2, FHE No. 29, Hoboken No. III:73
1. Allegro spiritoso
  \relative f'
2. Andante grazioso
  \relative f
3. Menuetto
  \relative c'
4. Finale: Presto
  \relative a
Quartet No. 59 in G minor ("Rider"), Op. 74, No. 3, FHE No. 30, Hoboken No. III:74
1. Allegro
  \relative g
2. Largo assai
  \relative gis'
3. Menuetto: (Allegretto)
  \relative e
4. Finale: Allegro con brio
  \relative g

Opus 76, the "Erdödy" quartets (1797)

See main article: article and String Quartets, Op. 76 (Haydn).

Quartet No. 60 in G major ("Jack-in-the-box"), Op. 76, No. 1, FHE No. 40, Hoboken No. III:75
Quartet No. 61 in D minor ("Quinten", "Fifths", "The Donkey"), Op. 76, No. 2, FHE No. 41, Hoboken No. III:76
Quartet No. 62 in C major ("Emperor" or "Kaiser"), Op. 76, No. 3, FHE No. 42, Hoboken No. III:77
Quartet No. 63 in B major ("Sunrise"), Op. 76, No. 4, FHE No. 49, Hoboken No. III:78
Quartet No. 64 in D major ("Largo" or "Friedhofsquartett"), Op. 76, No. 5, FHE No. 50, Hoboken No. III:79
Quartet No. 65 in E major, Op. 76, No. 6, FHE No. 51, Hoboken No. III:80

Opus 77, the "Lobkowitz" quartets (1799)

Quartet No. 66 in G major, Op. 77, No. 1, FHE No. 13, Hoboken No. III:81
1. Allegro moderato
  \relative g'
2. Adagio
  \relative es
3. Menuetto: Presto
  \relative g
4. Finale: Presto
  \relative d
Quartet No. 67 in F major, Op. 77, No. 2, FHE No. 14, Hoboken No. III:82
1. Allegro moderato
  \relative f'
2. Menuet: Presto
  \relative c
3. Andante
  \relative fis'
4. Finale: Vivace assai
  \relative f'

Opus 103 (1803)

Quartet No. 68 in D minor, Op. 103, Hoboken No. III:83 (incomplete); in 2013, Haydn specialist William Drabkin composed a completion of Haydn's unfinished final quartet.^[7]
1. Andante grazioso
2. Menuetto ma non troppo presto

Recordings of complete cycles

Multiple recordings of Haydn's complete string quartets have been made over the years. The first complete set was made by the Tátrai Quartet for Hungaroton from 1964 to 1984 and issued as a boxed set in 2000.^[8] During the 1970s, the Aeolian Quartet recorded a complete cycle for Decca, which was then reissued in 2009. From 1994 to 1999, the Angeles Quartet recorded a cycle for Philips Records, which received critical reviews. During the 1990s, the Tátrai Quartet completed a cycle for Hungaroton. From 1989 to 2003, the Kodály Quartet recorded a cycle for Naxos Records. More recently, from 2002 to 2008, the Buchberger Quartet recorded a cycle for Brilliant Classics on period instruments. The Auryn Quartet completed their cycle on modern instruments for Tacet in 2014.

Notes and References

Web site: Webster, James . Feder, Georg . amp. Haydn, Joseph.. Oxford Music Online. Oxford. 1 Apr 2024.
Web site: Webster, James . Feder, Georg . amp. Haydn, Joseph.. Oxford Music Online. Oxford. 1 Apr 2024.
Web site: Badley, Allan. About this Recording.. Naxos online catalog for CD catalog listing 8.555704. 9 Jun 2015.
Book: Fruehwald . Scott . Authenticity Problems in Joseph Haydn's Early Instrumental Works: A Stylistic Analysis. . 1988 . Pendragon Press . New York.
Chew. Geoffrey. Review: Authenticity Problems in Joseph Haydn's Early Instrumental Works: A Stylistic Investigation by Scott Fruehwald. Notes. 898314. 10.2307/898314. 50. 4. 1394–1395. June 1994.
Berger, Melvin. Guide to Chamber Music. p. 202. New York: Dover, 1985.
Haydn's unfinished quartet finished https://www.southampton.ac.uk/music/news/2013/11/06_haydns_unfinished_quartet_finished.page (Accessed: 8 January 2022)
Jacobson . Bernard . Tatrai Quartet: Haydn Complete String Quartets (Review) . . March–April 2001 . 24 . 4.