Richard Bratby

The joy of Haydn’s string quartets – here are the best recordings

These works will bring the colour back to your cheeks, says Richard Bratby

The perfect composer for lockdown: Thomas Hardy's portrait of Joseph Haydn (c.1791). Photo: Dea Picture Library / De Agostini / Getty Images 
issue 04 April 2020

As Joseph Haydn was getting out of bed on the morning of 10 May 1809, a cannonball landed in his back garden. Napoleon’s armies were closing on Vienna, and Haydn’s suburban home was in the line of fire. His valet recorded that the bedroom door blew open and every window in the house rattled.

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