Calidore String Quartet

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (born Salzburg, January 27, 1756; died Vienna, Dec. 5, 1791) Quartet in B-flat major, K. 458 (“The Hunt”) (composed 1784)

The Haydn-Mozart nexus was decidedly a two-way street, in terms both of respect and of influence. The two had met in Vienna in 1781, but their cross-fertilization had already brought forth fruit a decade earlier when the young prodigy’s Symphony in D major, K. 133 evidenced clear signs of pollination from Haydn. By the time the two met face-to-face, Haydn had pretty much abandoned his operatic career in acknowledgement of Mozart’s superior abilities in that realm.

Arising from Mozart’s own need to pay tribute to his mentor rather than from the usual commission, the six quartets dedicated to Haydn (1782-1785) were modeled on the dedicatee’s “Russian” Quartets, op. 33, from 1781. They were no mere imitations, however, as even Haydn recognized.

Completed on November 9, 1784, this fourth of the “Haydn” Quartets is possibly the most spirited of the six. Its nickname, The Hunt, derives from the distinctive horn signal of the opening theme. Ironically, that particular motif is closer to a military fanfare than a conventional hunting call. The development treats a variant of the horn signal and a trilling idea from the exposition’s transitional passage. Foreshadowing Beethoven, the extended coda acts as a kind of second mini-development.

Placing the dance movement in the second rather than its more common third position, Mozart contrasts an orthodox minuet with a trio distinguished by its staccato middle-voice accompaniment. The uncertain opening of the Adagio leads to a stirring dialogue between the first violin and cello with a chromatic accompaniment. Not for another fifty or sixty years would such an effect become a musical commonplace.

The resolute rhythms and unexpected shift in harmony of the sonata-form finale combine with a contrapuntal exuberance that seems to have touched Haydn. At the February 1785 premiere of this quartet, he gushed to Wolfgang’s father Leopold: “Your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by reputation. He has taste and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition.” To prove that he valued the tribute and returned the respect, some seven months later Mozart sent to Haydn the six quartet manuscripts, inscribed to their spiritual grandfather.