Haydn & Mozart: Quatuor Voce | BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert

Mozart at his warmest and Haydn at his noblest: Quatuor Voce brings to our celebration of these two masters of the string quartet to a stirring conclusion.

When Haydn heard London crowds singing ‘God Save the King’ he resolved to write an anthem that would touch the souls of his own countrymen just as deeply. The melody that resulted forms the glowing heart of his magnificent ‘Emperor’ Quartet, and it’s easy to hear why his young friend Mozart revered Haydn so much. Mozart’s radiant Quartet K 464 is a truly noble tribute to one of music’s most heartfelt friendships.

Music this special demands a special kind of interpreter. ‘Every phrase receives an emotional weight; every gesture develops a meaningful expressiveness’, wrote one German critic of the superb French string quartet Quatuor Voce, and this should be a masterly conclusion to our celebration of these two supremely loveable composers.

'The world will not see such a talent again in a hundred years' – Haydn on Mozart