Intro

HAYDN: THE SUN QUARTETS
Version with flute - on period instruments

Moshe Aron Epstein on an original classical flute built in 1780

Ya’akov Rubinstein violin

Rachel Ringelstein viola

Myrna Herzog cello

Haydn's Sun Quartets Op.20 (1772) represent a true revolution in the history of instrumental composition. The boldness of their structural innovations and the depth of their emotional expression influenced decisively the next 200 years of quartet writing.

The cover of the first printed edition of Haydn's quartets Op. 20 bears the picture of a sun, and for this reason they became known as "The Sun Quartets". The legendary British musicologist Donald Tovey used the visual symbolism to describe the importance of those works, saying that the quartets Op. 20 were "a sunrise over the domain of sonata style and quartets in particular." And he continued: "Every page of the six quartets of Op. 20 is of historic and aesthetic importance; and though the total results still leave Haydn with a long road to travel, there is perhaps no single or sextuple opus in the history of instrumental music which has achieved so much or achieved it so quietly. …With Op. 20 the historical development of Haydn's quartets reaches its goal; and further progress is not progress in any historical sense, but simply the difference between one masterpiece and the next."

Franz Joseph Haydn is a great composer not heard enough at the concert hall. Considered by some as the main engineer of the classical style, he influenced Mozart, his student Beethoven and many other composers. The Sun Quartets are believed to to have been the inspiration for the six early string quartets K. 168–173 written by the  17-year-old Mozart during a visit to Vienna in 1773.  Haydn's influence in this realm cannot be overestimated, and certainly it is not by chance that in 1785 Mozart  dedicated to him his so-called "Haydn" quartets (K. 387, 421, 428, 458, 464 and 465) - an unusual gesture at a time when dedicatees were only members of the aristocracy.

PHOENIX presents three of the Sun Quartets on period instruments, in a version for string trio and flute - in the 18^th century often interchangeable with the violin. The 18th century practise of having a flute instead of a violin, often stated in the title page of the work, was especially common when we speak of Haydn, a composer who wrote so little for the flute. To the extent that, in the lack of more works dedicated to the instrument by the composer, 18th century publishers created inumerous "Haydn" chamber works for the flute - either arrangements of his works, or simply  complete forgeries - and published them under his name.

This seems to be the case of Quartet op.5 no.2 Hob. II:G4, which complements our program. It was first published in 1768 and reprinted in 1777 in Amsterdam, bearing the name of Haydn at the title page. This quartet is no longer considered to be by Haydn, but the identity of its composer remains a mystery. In our program, while it enlightens us about 18th century tastes, it makes for an interesting contrast with the real Haydn's quartets.