String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3 "Emperor"

Haydn composed this quartet in 1797, shortly after writing a patriotic hymn for the Austrian court, and placed that melody at the centre of the work's slow movement. Where most variation movements decorate or fragment their theme, Haydn does the opposite: the tune stays intact in every variation while the surrounding texture changes, so the listener can follow both the constant melody and the shifting accompaniment simultaneously. The quartet sits in his Op. 76 set, written after his London visits and among the most expansive string quartets he ever produced.

What to listen for

In the second movement, each of the four instruments takes a turn carrying the hymn tune in full, unaltered, while the other three weave new countermelodies around it. Tracking which instrument currently holds the melody and noticing how the accompanying voices grow more active or chromatic with each variation gives the movement a layered quality that rewards repeated hearings. The first movement, by contrast, works through sharp rhythmic contrasts and a passage near its centre where the texture briefly thins and shifts key in an unexpected direction before returning to C major, a moment many listeners find the most surprising in the piece.

Recommended rendition

The Kodály Quartet's traversal of the Op. 76 set is often cited as a clear and well-balanced account of these quartets.

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