Henle, Günter Joseph Haydn - Streichquartette Heft V op. 33 (Russische Quartette)

Haydn allowed about ten years to pass before composing a new cycle of string quartets after opus 20: the so-called “Russian Quartets”. This is the first series of quartets that we know he wrote with publication in mind. “They are in a completely new and special manner”; he wrote in several letters, and he was certainly not just referring to the fact that “Scherzi” replaced the minuets for the first time. Music lovers particularly appreciate the melodic ideas; thus the rich ornamentation of the main motif of op. 33,3, gave the quartet its nickname “Bird Quartet”.