txtCommentary1=When Mozart refers to his own set of six {\uldb \'93Haydn\'94 Quartets}{\v 136342} as \'93the fruit of a long and laborious study,\'94 we can assume with some certitude that the objects of his study were {\uldb Haydn\'92s}{\v 132423} six {\uldb quartets}{\v 154839} of {\uldb Op.}{\v 134155} 33, begun in 1778 and published in {\uldb Vienna}{\v 135870} near the end of 1781. We cannot be sure when Mozart first encountered any of these works, though it could have been as early as the spring of 1781. (The
txtChapterHead=Mozart at Work
numbuttons=0
numfields=0
txtCommentary2=\par\par first personal encounter between Mozart and Haydn cannot, alas, be documented.) Although almost four years elapsed before Mozart\'92s own set was complete, he did not work continuously on it. Indeed, the {\uldb autograph}{\v 21246} of the first\par of the set to be completed, the Quartet in G {\uldb major}{\v 86320}, {\uldb K.}{\v 137211} 387, is dated December 31, 1782.{\fs24\uldb \'80}{\v next}