Haydneum Eszterháza Festival – VenEthos Ensemble

There was a near quarter of a century age difference between Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), but this was no hindrance to the two great masters of the First Viennese School fully understanding each other, indeed, being friends. The generational gap between the two is, if not exactly, but roughly halved by the Italian Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805), who spent a significant part of his life in the service of the Spanish royal family. Chamber music compositions of the most varied genres make up the lion’s share of his output. These are particularly interesting because musicologists have discovered in these works patterns of Haydn models. Works featuring in this concert are performed in chronological order. The opening number, Boccherini’s String Quartet in C minor, dates from 1761. Mozart’s Quartet in C major, catalogue number K. 465 – perhaps the best-known string quartet by the composer, the last in the series dedicated to Haydn (1785) – was given its sobriquet for the remarkable dissonances of the slow introduction to the opening movement. Finally, we can enjoy the variations in the G major Poco adagio slow movement of the ‘Emperor’ string quartet (Kaiserquartett), the third piece of Haydn’s Erdődy Quartets composed in 1797/98, to the melody of the Imperial Anthem (Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser) composed by Haydn. VenEthos Ensemble (founded: 2016) are a period string quartet playing on early instruments, and are based in Milan.