Franz Haydn said that his Opus 33 string quartets were done "in quite a new, special way." This is no mere marketing hype, for the quartets have more varied and fluent rhythms than the previous set. The first movement of No. 1 has a marvelous texture, woven closely and consistently with the initial theme. Each instrument seems fully engaged, not a mere accompanist to the lead player. Fresh devices abound. Phrases are echoed, but only partly; ghostly passages of counterpoint waft by; and the overall character is one of tonal ambiguity (perhaps foreshadowing Beethoven?). After the opening of the minuet (now called a scherzo), Haydn uses a tone color melody for contrast, not merely a difference in pitch. The recapitulation is not so adventurous. The andante features some notable sforzatos, albeit softly played ones. The cello's upward creeping figures are fine examples of Haydn's use of timbre, much like the shadows used by nineteenth-century painters like Turner and Constable. They contrast well with the legato phrases of the lead violin. The finale uses a demotic gypsy rhythm, but assimilates it subtly. Haydn's second subject provides an astonishing degree of lyrical contrast at break-string speed.

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