A father, having resolved to send his sons into the great world, finds it advisable to entrust them to the protection and guidance of a highly celebrated man, the more so since this man, by a stroke of luck, is his best friend. Here, then, celebrated man and my dearest friend, are my six sons.

In dedicating his last set of six string quartets to Joseph Haydn, Mozart, in a sense, was paying a special debt of gratitude. Haydn’s Russian Quartets, composed in 1781, had left a lasting impression on the younger composer, leading him to say that he had learned everything about this demanding form from his mentor. Moreover, they provided the impulse and inspiration for Mozart to compose six new quartets of his own.

These quartets were not written on commission or for some public occasion, as most of his compositions thereafter had to be; they were born simply of an inner urge.
Some of Mozart’s new quartets were performed at a private concert at the Storace house in February 1785.

According to contemporary testimony the musicians were «talented amateurs»: Haydn on first violin and Mozart the viola, together with Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf on the second violin and Bohemian composer Johann Vanhall the cello! In a famous letter, Leopold reported Haydn’s comments to him afterward: I tell you before God as an honest man that your son is the greatest composer I know, either personally or by reputation. He has taste and, what is more, profound knowledge of composition.

The string quartet Sine Nomine has recorded works by Brahms, Turina, Arriaga and Gounod for Claves. The four musicians, now regarded as one of the world’s leading quartets, regularly tour Europe and America; they have performed in New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall.