String Quartets of Josef Haydn
Joseph Haydn "Joseph Haydn" by Thomas Hardy (1757-circa 1805) - Unknown. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Josef Haydn wrote 83 string quartets. Despite earlier attempts, up to 1950 no complete recording of the Haydn Quartets had been issued. Then Alexander Schneider and three colleagues were approached by the Haydn Society label to make a complete set. Between 1951 and 1954, 46 quartets were recorded, and then the money ran out. On this week's Classics of the Phonograph, Saturday at 11 am on WILL-FM, selected quartets from this collection will be aired.