Haydn Quartets (Mozart)

The "Haydn" Quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are a set of six string quartets published in 1785 in Vienna as his Op. 10, dedicated to the composer Joseph Haydn. They are considered to be the pinnacle of Classical string quartet writing, containing some of Mozart's most memorable melodic writing and refined compositional thought.

The quartets were published in a set (labelled Mozart's "op. 10") in Vienna, 1785. Dates of completion are shown in parentheses above. Mozart arranged the six quartets in the order of composition, except for reversing the order of K. 428 and K. 458.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed 23 string quartets. The six "Haydn" Quartets were written in Vienna during the years 1782 to 1785. They are dedicated to the composer Joseph Haydn, who is considered the creator of the modern string quartet. Haydn had recently completed his influential "Opus 33" set of quartets in 1781, the year that Mozart arrived in Vienna. Mozart studied Haydn's string quartets and began composing this set of six, which were published in 1785. During this time, Haydn and Mozart had become friends, and sometimes played quartets together in Mozart's apartment, with Mozart playing the viola, and Haydn playing violin; see Haydn and Mozart.

Haydn first heard the quartets at two gatherings at Mozart's home, 15 January and 12 February 1785 (on these occasions he apparently just listened, rather than playing a part himself). After hearing them all, Haydn made a now-famous remark to Mozart's father Leopold, who was visiting from Salzburg: "Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition." The comment was preserved in a letter Leopold wrote 16 February to his daughter Nannerl.

Mozart's published dedication page (1 Sept. 1785):

The Classical string quartet form was created by Joseph Haydn in the late 1750s. He is described as the "father" of the string quartet because in his total of sixty-eight quartets he developed this genre into its first maturity. The string quartet features four parts for two violins, viola and cello. Its function was designed for private or semi-private performances in the aristocratic salon or middle-class parlor.

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