Haydn: String Quartets Op. 64, Nos. 1- 3

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Cat No: 8550673

Release Date: 12 January 1999

Label: Naxos - Nxc / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 4891030506732

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: HAYDN

Description
Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)String Quartets Op. 64, Nos. 1 -3Joseph Haydn was born in the village of Rohrau in 1732, the sonof a wheelwright. Trained at the choir-school of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, hespent some years earning a living as best he could from teaching and playing the violin orkeyboard, and was able to learn from the old musician Porpora, whose assistant he became.Haydn's first appointment was in 1759 as Kapellmeister to a Bohemian nobleman, Count vonMorzin. This was followed in 1761 by employment as Vice-Kapellmeister to one of therichest men in the Empire, Prince Paul Anton Esterhazy, succeeded on his death in 1762 byhis brother Prince Nikolaus. On the death in 1766 of the elderly and somewhat obstructiveKapellmeister, Gregor Werner, Haydn succeeded to his position, to remain in the sameemployment, nominally at least, for the rest of his life.On the completion of the magnificent palace at Esterhaza, inthe Hungarian plains under the new Prince, Haydn assumed command of an increased musicalestablishment. Here he had responsibility for the musical activities of the palace, whichincluded the provision and direction of instrumental music, opera and theatre music, andmusic for the church. For his patron he provided a quantity of chamber music of all kinds,particularly for the Prince's own peculiar instrument, the baryton, a bowed stringinstrument with sympathetic strings that could also be plucked.On the death of Prince Nikolaus in 1790, Haydn was able toaccept an invitation to visit London, where he provided music for the concert seasonorganized by the violinist-impresario Salomon. A second successful visit to London in 1794and 1795 was followed by a return to duty with the Esterhazy family, the new head ofwhich had settled principally at the family property in Eisenstadt, where Haydn hadstarted his career. Much of the year, however, was to be spent in Vienna, where Haydnpassed his final years, dying in 1809, as the French armies of Napoleon approached thecity yet again.The string quartets of Opus64 constitute a second set of six quartets for the violinist Johann Tost, whohad led the second violins of Haydn's orchestra at Esterhaza from 1783 until hisdeparture for Paris in 1788, although he was mentioned as Music Director for the Seipptheatre company in Pressburg (the modern Slovak capital of Bratislava) in the previousyear. In Paris Tost's sale of Haydn compositions caused some trouble that may beunderstood in the light of his earlier suggestion for the pirating of music belonging toPrince Esterhaly. In 1790 Tost returned to Vienna, where he married a housekeeper in theEsterhaly service, prospering thereafter as a cloth-merchant. Nine years later he isheard of again in his suggestion to Spohr that he buy exclusive rights to the latter'schamber music, thus securing for himself entry to the houses of rich patrons, somethingthat would materially assist his business. The arrangement was one to which Spohrassented. Mozart also appare
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