Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 20 "Sun", Nos. 4-6
Haydn's String Quartet in F minor, Op. 20 No. 5, is the first piece of tragic music composed in the classical period, and it shows that in Haydn's hands this new musical language would be capable of the widest range of expression. It's a lesson that Mozart and Beethoven took to heart. But these quartets aren't all gloom and doom--far from it. Op. 20 No. 4, for example, contains a Hungarian Minuet that features one of the composer's many excursions into the territory of folk music, and it ends with a zippy finale that's positively toe-tapping. Unlike many composers, when Haydn broadens the range of musical expression, he always carries his listeners with him. As you can hear for yourself, it's a musical trip worth taking.--David Hurwitz