From our first day, back in 2013, we felt that Haydn would accompany our quartet on his journey. The creativity and the inventiveness of his music constitute for us a constantly renewed experience. Each time we dive into it with a growing appetite, and it fills us with joy. This complex composer has shown, in his entire work, the utmost sensitiveness and lyricism. From the birth of the string quartet, with the baroque and pathetic op.20 to the orchestral and Beethovenian op.77, Haydn reveals all the multiple faces of the human feeling. He can alternately be playful and mischievous in the op.33, elegant and lyric in the slow movements of the op.54, or fiery and passionate, as in the op.76. The eclectic portrait of Haydn that emerges here underscores his force and the wide variety of his work, as much as it disclaims his academic reputation.

Freedom, humanism, generosity: Haydn’s musical genius seems ageless. Recording, for the first time, an album entirely devoted to Haydn is our way to express our deep gratitude to him.