i. Allegro 
ii. Menuetto and Trio 
iii. Andante (theme with variations) 
iv. Allegro non troppo 
 

Mozart wrote this String Quartet in A major in 1785, and it was the fifth of his six quartets that he dedicated to contemporary composer Joseph Haydn. Haydn and Mozart held each other’s work in high regard, even sitting down together to play the last three ‘Haydn’ quartets, with Haydn on first violin and Mozart playing viola. String Quartet in A major is much more frugal in its makeup than many of Mozart’s other works, with only a couple of short musical themes being established and explored in each piece. Ironically though, it is one of his longest quartets. It is sometimes known as the Drum because in the sixth variation of the Andante, the cello part has a repeated staccato section that has been likened to a drumbeat. The coda in the Allegro non troppo picks up on Haydn’s practice of ‘joke’ endings, bringing the set to a playful conclusion.