“All shall not die” echoes the quotation engraved on Joseph Haydn’s stele, in Vienna: Non omnis moriar. This latine epitaph claims the immortality of the artist through his work, which remains eternal.

Recording these quartets is surely a way to pay tribute to the great figure of the classic era Haydn was but it also ensures the musical legacy of the man who not only built the foundations of the genre but also explored the variety of its ways.

Through the birth of the genre to the beginnings of the romanticism, the six pieces chosen by the Hanson Quartet unearth the rich inventiveness of his work, both lyrical, baroque, playful and dramatic. Whereas the young musicians enjoy playing with their listeners’ expectations, as Haydn did himself, shaping the musical form to th

eir desires, their musical phrasing owes much to the historic recordings.

With this first recording, the four musicians show how much they resemble Haydn: audacious, rebellious and inspired.

• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20 No. 5 in F minor
• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 33 No. 5 in G major
• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 50 No. 6 in D major ‘The Frog''
• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2 in C major
• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 76 No. 2 in D minor 'Fifths'
• Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 77 No. 2 in F major