1. Allegro spiritoso
2. Andante
3. Minuet – Trio
4. Fuga. Allegro moderato

Composed by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) in 1787, the String Quartet No. 39 in F sharp minor is the fourth of the composer’s six so-called ‘Prussian Quartets’. Dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia (in thanks for the gift of a golden ring), the quartets are widely considered among Haydn’s most sophisticated works in the medium. In this quartet, for example, Haydn deploys a complex harmonic language, dramatizing a tussle between major and minor. Beginning (ordinarily enough) in the home key of F sharp minor, the first movement ends with a turn to the major which Richard Wigmore described as “too blunt to constitute a happy ending”. In the second movement, similarly, the cello heralds a sudden and dramatic turn to A minor, while in the third movement – a ‘Menuetto’ dance in triple time – Haydn boldly interjects with a D major chord quite alien to the home key. Only in the fugue of the final movement are the motifs of the first three movements built on, returning, at last, to F sharp minor.