Haydn's Sunrise

★★★★ "Superlative playing of what must be music in its purest form." – Limelight

Brilliant. Audacious. Beautiful.

Welcome to the sound-world that Haydn, Beethoven and Fanny Mendelssohn knew, as the AHE performs gorgeous and complex string quartets on the instruments of the time.

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. 

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. 

All are splendid classical works to experience live.  

Program:

• Haydn – String Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 Sunrise                                                                                                      

• Beethoven – String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1 in F major

• Fanny Mendelssohn (Hensel) – String Quartet in E flat major

More information: https://www.australianhaydn.com.au/haydns-sunrise