Possibly Haydn's String Quartet, Op. 2, No. 2, is his first quartet to serenade its way into the repertoire. It is certainly one of the sprightliest. The way its carefree first theme banters back and forth between strings and the scintillations of its imitation passages have endeared it to modern audiences. The minuet is tempo-tossed, perhaps more than most others Haydn composed for the quartet form. Within three minutes its tempo and dynamics change multiple times; for example, it begins allegro, drops to andante, then at the coda speeds up again to the opening allegro theme. The tender adagio is played with keen sensitivity but without any undue lachrymose effects. Like so many of Haydn's string adagios, it is essentially a violin solo with coloristic effects by the ensemble, but the echoes are delicate and varied, the timbre complex and pleasing, the ending gracious. The opening melody of the second minuet is so beguiling that it's not hard to see why its place in musical history is so assured.

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