String Quartets, Vol. V, Op. 33 (Russian Quartets)

Haydn allowed about ten years to pass before composing a new cycle of string quartets after opus 20: the so-called “Russian Quartets.” This is the first series of quartets that we know he wrote with publication in mind. “They are in a completely new and special manner,” he wrote in several letters, and he was certainly not just referring to the fact that “Scherzi” replaced the minuets for the first time. Music lovers particularly appreciate the melodic ideas; thus the rich ornamentation of the main motif of op. 33,3, gave the quartet its nickname “Bird Quartet.”