• Tracks

Barthold Kuijken named this album Bach vs. Haydn because it aims to compare and contrast important works by two major composers that were written at almost the same time. C.P.E. Bach wrote his Quartets in 1788. They are considered to be among his very best creations; he was to die a year after they were composed. Haydn composed the Trios heard here in 1789, at the end of his period with the Eszterházys. The stylistic differences between the two are enormous. In Bach, we find Stürm und Drang (storm and stress) and Empfindsamkeit (sensitivity); in Haydn, alongside his typical wit and moving depth, we find elegance, charm and the cantabile quality of Viennese Classicism.