String Quartets, Op. 76

String Quartets, Op. 76 is a set of six quartets for two violins, viola, and cello composed by Joseph Haydn in 1796–1797. The collection includes the Emperor and Sunrise quartets.

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String Quartet: A chamber ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello, and music written for that ensemble. This is the ensemble and genre for which all six Op. 76 works were written.
Emperor Quartet: Haydn’s String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3, whose slow movement presents his hymn Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser. Its variations on the imperial hymn became the collection’s best-known passage.
Joseph Haydn: An Austrian composer whose symphonies and chamber works helped shape the Classical style. He composed all six quartets and refined their forms and instrumental interplay.
Deutschlandlied: The German national anthem, whose melody is Haydn’s hymn Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser. The tune later became Germany’s anthem, extending the Emperor Quartet’s theme into national life.
Sonata Form: A musical form organized around thematic exposition, development, and recapitulation. Several Op. 76 first movements use sonata-form procedures to transform and reprise their themes.
Sunrise Quartet: Haydn’s String Quartet in B-flat major, Op. 76, No. 4, nicknamed for the rising violin line at its opening. The opening’s gradual emergence from sustained accompaniment gives the set one of its most vivid images.
Esterházy Family: A Hungarian noble family whose patronage supported Haydn’s long career as a court musician. Haydn’s decades at the Esterházy court preceded the independent projects that produced Op. 76.
Austrian National Anthem: The current national anthem of Austria, set to a melody by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Austria’s present anthem differs from the imperial hymn featured in the Emperor Quartet.
Theme and Variations: A musical form in which a theme returns in altered versions. The slow movement of the Emperor Quartet varies Haydn’s hymn-like theme.
Quartet No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 76, No. 2: The second quartet in Haydn’s Op. 76 set, known as the Fifths Quartet for its recurring falling fifths. Its recurring interval turns a compact musical idea into a unifying force across movements.