Boundless

Haydn String Quartet in G Major op 77 no 1
Beethoven String Quartet op 95 Serioso
Bartók String Quartet no 5

Here are three masterpieces, from arguably the three greatest composers for the string quartet. Haydn’s op 77 no 1 is the grand, crowning achievement of a life inventing, exploring and perfecting the genre. Written ten years later, in Beethoven’s middle period, the Serioso quartet is all fire and crystal whilst remaining compositionally one of the strictest and most tightly structured works he ever wrote.

In Bartók’s Quartet no 5 we hear the master of the 20th century quartet adding another dimension of emotional depth to his already highly sharpened, perfectly constructed middle period works. Ever since its first performance in 1935, it has been hailed as one of the ultimate challenges for string quartets.