Mozart: String Quartet No. 14, Spring | Gewandhaus Quartet

The first of Mozart’s six ‘Haydn Quartets’: The Gewandhaus Quartet played the String Quartet No. 14 in G major (K. 387), ‘Spring’, in the historic surroundings of the Rammenau Baroque Castle in 2005. (00:00) I. Allegro vivace assai (07:18) II. Menuetto (Allegro) (15:49) III. Andante cantabile (23:02) IV. Molto allegro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was 26 years old when he wrote his String Quartet No. 14 in 1782, after having moved to Vienna shortly before. String Quartet No. 14 is one of the six “Haydn Quartets” that were written between 1782 and 1785 in homage to Joseph Haydn, whom Mozart admired. Haydn’s string quartets Op. 33 had inspired Mozart to write his six quartets and he clearly showed his high regard for the older composer in the dedication of the “Haydn Quartets”, by writing: “al mio caro amico Haydn” (“to my dear friend Haydn”). It is unclear, how exactly the piece came to be referred to as “Spring”, but the quartet’s optimistic opening melody serves as a likely explanation for the nickname.