i Vivace assai G major
ii Largo e cantabile
iii Scherzo – Trio
iv Finale – Allegretto
The Op. 33 String Quartets were written by Joseph Haydn in the summer and Autumn of 1781 for the Viennese publisher Artaria. This set of string quartets has several nicknames, the most common of which is the “Russian” quartets, because Haydn dedicated the quartets to the Grand Duke Paul of Russia and many (if not all) of the quartets were premiered on Christmas Day, 1781, at the Viennese apartment of the Duke’s wife, the Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. The “Russian” quartets were some of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s favourite works by Haydn and in 1785 Mozart dedicated six string quartets to Haydn in admiration of the quartet
i Allegro moderato, ii Adagio ma non troppo, iii Molto vivace, iv Finale. Andante sostenuto – Allegro con fuoco
The String Quartet in G major was the first work to be written entirely in his native country once Dvořák had returned home from the United States, and thus heralds the final stage of the composer’s career. Together with the Quartet in A flat major, completed almost a month later, it is also his last composition in the field of absolute music. The quartet was not written immediately after his return in May 1895, but in the autumn of that year. What was, for Dvořák, an unusually long break from his compositional work – four months – was probably necessary after his demanding two-and-a-half years’ residency in the United States. The composer moved with his family from Prague to his summer house in Vysoká where, surrounded by nature, he was granted the respite that he needed. In a letter to his friend Alois Göbl, he writes: “I am basking in God’s nature and I am contentedly idle, I am not doing anything, which will probably surprise you, but it’s true, it really is, I’m just lazing around and I haven’t touched my pen.” During this period of apparent inactivity, however, he was mulling over the conception of two new works, the String Quartets in G major and A flat major. Dvořák then wrote the score for the Quartet in G major as if in one fell swoop, between 11 November and 9 December 1895.
Neruda Quartet (String ensemble)
The Neruda Quartet was founded at the Royal Academy of Music in October of 2024. The quartet’s name is a tribute to Moravian violinist, Wilma Neruda, one of the first female virtuosos and chamber music enthusiasts. Her fame was such that even Arthur Conan Doyle references her in A Study in Scarlet. The Neruda Quartet has been very fortunate to be able to benefit from the chamber resources of the Academy by having coachings and study days with the likes of Marije Johnston, Anthony Marwood, Sini Simmonen, John Thorne, Levon Chilingarian, Yoanna Prodanova, and Jim Sleigh.
Although having only been formed for a short while, Neruda has been very honoured by being chosen for several opportunities through RAM, including being selected as the only representatives of the Academy at the International Orchestral Symposium that was held at the Tianjin Juilliard School in May 2025. Additionally, Neruda is looking forward to a busy fall and winter of concerts around London and the UK.
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