Brentano String Quartet by Haydn, Nuo (2025/2025), Carnegie Hall, New York City, United States

The “magnificent” Brentano String Quartet (London’s The Times) performs in Zankel Hall Center Stage—an intimate, in-the-round setting in which audiences encircle the artists. For the occasion, the ensemble treats listeners to Haydn’s complete Op. 33 string quartets—the first set of works contemporaneously titled “string quartets” by the art form’s definitive composer. With his earlier compositions for four string musicians (including the foundational Op. 20), Haydn’s transformational influence on quartet music was already unmatched. When this immense set of music was unveiled to the world on Christmas Day 1781, it proved to be a true culmination of his efforts, showcasing the string quartet as a vibrant, richly varied, and virtuosic form of music that’s as riveting today as ever.