Work: String Quartet no. 57 in C major, Op.74 no.1, Hob III:72

Dr Roger B. Williams’ scholarly yet accessible programme notes highlighted the fact that Haydn’s 1793 String Quartet no. 57 in C major was, unlike some chamber music, written with an audience of the general public in mind. Call it biographical fallacy, but I felt I could hear this in the presentation of the opening bars.

For the first of two short concerts that the Chilingirian Quartet presented on the opening evening of the Kings Place Festival, they focused on two quartets by Joseph Haydn. Both were written in 1793 following a previous highly successful trip Haydn had made to England, and were intended to satisfy the demand of London audiences.The String Quartet in C, Op. 74 no.