Haydn: 6 String Quartets, Op. 54, 55/Peters

Category: String Quartet, Two Violins, Viola and Cello ** Composer: Haydn, Franz Joseph ** Title: 6 String Quartets, Op. 54 and 55 ** Book/Part: Score and Parts ** Edited by: Simon Rowland-Jones ** Publisher: Edition Peters URTEXT ** Difficulty: A4/A5.

Though Franz Joseph Haydn did not "invent" the string quartet, he is often considered the "Father of the String Quartet" because of his huge contribution to the genre. Within this medium, he was extremely prolific; 83 works for quartet are attributed to him. Some of those pieces have, in recent years, been deemed spurious by scholars (i.e., they may possibly be the work of other composers), but the body of compositions believed to be Haydns is still quite large. Not only did he compose a great quantity of quartets, but the quality of those pieces is very high - setting such a standard for this type of composition that later composers, including Mozart and Beethoven, would pattern their quartets on his, striving for their exquisite beauty and perfection. These 6 String Quartets, Op. 54 and 55, Hob. III:57-62 are also known as the "Tost" quartets (sets 1 and 2).

Contents:
* Quartet In G Major, Op. 54, No. 1, Hob. III:58
* Quartet In C Major, Op. 54, No. 2, Hob. III:57
* Quartet In E Major, Op. 54, No. 3, Hob. III:59

* Quartet In A Major, Op. 55, No. 1, Hob. III:60
* Quartet In F Minor ("Razor"), Op. 55, No. 2, Hob. III:61
* Quartet In B-Flat Major, Op. 55, No. 3, Hob. III:62