Haydn’s Sunrise

This program features two wonderful quartets that morph effortlessly from the lofty to the lowbrow, while Fanny Mendelssohn ’s quartet, apparently the first ever composed by a woman, offers an elegant riposte. Her Quartet in E flat is now lauded for its formal and harmonic audacity. Beethoven conjures a lovers’ farewell scenario in the wrenching despair of Op. 18 No.1’s Adagio. Whether the hazy, soft-focused opening to Haydn’s Sunrise quartet is an actual depiction of dawn matters little: the first two of Op. 76 No. 4 are among the most rhapsodically beautiful of all quartet movements. Both teacher (Haydn) and pupil (Beethoven) get their hands dirty in the remaining movements : brilliant counterpoint sits alongside tipsy hiccoughing, and each culminate in the dizzy whirl of a country dance. Splendid Classical works to experience live.

 Presented by The Australian Haydn Ensemble