In String Quartet, Op. 17, No. 2, we see the burgeoning of Franz Haydn's creative compositional technique. The first movement has an ample first violin melody that unfolds with a grace that would please those cinematographers who film flowers blooming in slow motion. The lower strings don't merely echo the melody as they did in earlier works, but join it as if in conversation. A spacious feeling abounds in the long lines and odd phrase lengths. There is imitation, but it is complex—contrapuntal even. Haydn displays a growing terseness: the recapitulation cuts out extraneous material and flows straight into the second subject. As vestigial independent melodic lines make one of their first appearances in the minuet, he delves deeper into counterpoint. The adagio has some touching moments, such as the passages in which Haydn displays his skill at one-string composition. However, the accompanying figuration is not as adventurous as it is in Op. 17, No. 1.

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