Joseph Haydn

String Quartets op. 55 1-3

Playing 4-hand duets at one keyboard is extraordinarily enjoyable and rewarding means of music-making, there in your parlour, domestic and intimate, at every level technically, from beginners to the most accomplished players. The repertoire of original compositions embraces gems by Bizet, Chabrier, Faure, Debussy, Ravel; Brahms Waltzes and Dvorak's Slavonic Dances, Percy Grainger, Mozart; and Schubert's copious duet output includes some of his greatest works. Transcriptions also figure large; most classic symphonic and chamber-music was arranged in the 19th century for the modest domestic medium—some works first appeared thus before publication in full score; orchestral music could in many places be heard more readily at home than in concert; it was the forerunner of broadcasting and recording. My own venture, to transcribe all the mature Haydn Quartets not already thus arranged (most of them), has been undertaken in the same spirit; my hope is to spread yet further knowledge of and delight in this inexhaustible hoard of marvellous music.Robin Holloway Cambridge, December 2024