Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Quatuor à cordes en si bémol majeur, MH 308, P 124
Quatuor à cordes en mi bémol majeur, MH 309, P 118
Quatuor à cordes en la majeur, MH 310, P 122
Quatuor à cordes en sol mineur, MH 311, P 120
Quatuor à cordes en fa majeur, MH 312, P 119
Quatuor à cordes en do majeur, MH 313, P 116

Constanze Quartett

Emeline Pierre Larsen, violon
Sara Meyer, violon
Elen Guloyan, alto
Julia Ammerer-Simma, violoncelle

Michael Haydn did not achieve the same exorbitant quantity of instrumental music as his older brother, since he had to compose a large amount of sacred music because of his position; but the surviving symphonies and chamber music in particular are not lacking in novel and "original" character traits. This becomes clear, for example, in the six string quartets recorded here, which he wrote sometime in the 1770s or 1780s. Here, personable elegance and subtle humour are combined with a quiet touch of tragic drama to create a very unique candour that reveals a world view that is as moving as it is entertaining, somewhere between the masterpieces of his brother Joseph and Amadeus, who was around twenty years younger.