Long before the euphoria of their triumphant march through Haydn's string quartet legacy had evaporated, the New Esterházy Quartet were planning new adventures. Now comes the first in a series of concerts centered on works that were inspired by Haydn and — no surprise — the first calling card will be dropped by Amadeus himself.
Mozart's marvelous set of quartets dedicated to Haydn is probably one of the most famous feats of emulation in music and brought the younger composer's technique to new heights. But the champion Haydn-admirer was his pupil Ignaz Pleyel, who dedicated six string quartet sets to Haydn. NEQ plays the G Minor Quartet from Pleyel's Op. 2 on this concert. The NEQ are spirited musicians who really draw the most out of this repertory, as any number of recent SFCV reviews attest, so this concert is one that gets the highest recommendation.