The Op. 50 string quartets are often regarded as Haydn's response to the six quartets Mozart dedicated to him, but the fourth through sixth quartets, in particular, seem less an emulation of Mozart's comparatively sensuous style than an austere rebuke. Haydn was not actually scolding Mozart for anything; he greatly admired the younger composer's quartets. Yet the style of these works could hardly be more different from Mozart's; indeed, it's a departure even for Haydn, whose other quartets tend to be ingenious, witty entertainments. The first movement of Op. 50/5, Allegro moderato, takes sonata form. It's far less acerbic than its immediate predecessor, Op. 50/4, but early in the playful first theme the cello introduces an ominous little phrase suggesting that darkness lurks behind the joy. Haydn throws the various instruments, especially the violins, into long flurries of passagework; depending on the performance, these can seem either lighthearted and energetic or desperate. Similarly, the development section oscillates between the happy rum-tum-tum tune and faintly threatening treatments of a little echo motif that appears near the end of the first theme. Next comes a Poco adagio that progresses with quiet dignity, except that the first violin repeatedly stretches its melody up the scale, first step-wise and then more smoothly, and soon wanders independently through a complex filigree of notes. The Minuet lightens the mood, the first violin's turns at the beginning of each short phrase contrasting with the more placid music provided by the rest of the ensemble. The trio section, unusually, mulls over a descending motif from the end of the Minuet's main theme, sending it through several dour permutations. The finale, Vivace, returns to sonata form, abandoning the rondo and variation patterns Haydn had favored in his earlier collections. Again, Haydn offers an odd balance of moods; the violins frolic over a fast, nervous bass line. The jitteriness of the cello and viola infects the violin material during the very brief development, but within a few bars this is displaced by a recapitulation of the melody in its initial form.

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