Thread: Haydn Razor Quartet Opus 55

From Notes by Richard Wigmor (2017) Hyperion Records:

In a story told by Haydn’s nineteenth-century biographer Carl Ferdinand Pohl, Haydn, unable to get a decent shave at the Eszterháza palace, offered ‘his best quartet’ to the visiting music publisher John Bland in November 1789 in exchange for a pair of English razors. These were duly supplied in April 1790, and the jokey nickname ‘Rasierquartett’, or ‘Razor’ Quartet, somehow attached itself to Op 55 No 2. It’s a nice tale, though one to be taken with several pinches of salt. The Opp 54 and 55 works were published in London not by Bland but by the rival firm of Longman & Broderip. Bland did, though, publish the Op 64 quartets in 1791; and if there is indeed a ‘Razor’ Quartet, it could one of that set, or even the whole opus.

For those who want to give it a listen:


https://youtu.be/hBQrdDQg_n4

And for those who love fine razors and classical music, a Wusthof in 5/8 with accompanying CD:

https://ebay.us/DNuOlO

Interesting, and the Meta4 recording is very listenable. Thank you!