Music #154 -Mozart String Quartet No.15

String Quartet No.15 in d
- K.421

Mvt.1 Allegro moderato
Mvt.2 Andante
Mvt.3 Menuetto and Trio. Allegretto
Mvt.4 Allegretto ma non troppo
Totaling about 29 minutes.

This is one of the six Haydn Quartets (String Quartets Nos.14-19) published in 1785 in Vienna by Mozart, and dedicated to Haydn. They are considered to be the pinnacle of Classical string quartet writing, containing some of Mozart's most memorable melodic writing and refined compositional thought.
     
               
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Haydn Quartets 
          Mozart composed 23 string quartets during his life. His six "Haydn" Quartets were written in Vienna during the years 1782 to 1785. They are dedicated to the composer Joseph Haydn, who is considered the creator of the modern string quartet. 
          Haydn had recently completed his influential "Opus 33" set of quartets in 1781, the year that Mozart arrived in Vienna. Mozart studied Haydn's string quartets and began composing this set of six, which were published in 1785. During this time, Haydn and Mozart had become friends, and sometimes played quartets together in Mozart's apartment, with Mozart playing the viola, and Haydn playing violin; see Haydn and Mozart.
          Haydn first heard the quartets at two gatherings at Mozart's home, 15 January and 12 February, 1785 (on these occasions he apparently just listened, rather than playing a part himself). After hearing them all, Haydn made a now-famous remark to Mozart's father Leopold, who was visiting from Salzburg: "Before God, and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name. He has taste, and, what is more, the most profound knowledge of composition." The comment was preserved in a letter Leopold wrote 16 February to his daughter Nannerl.  [Source: Wikipedia]