MOZART wrote only four string quartets after completing the ‘Haydn’ set in 1785, the ‘Hoffmeister’ (K. 499) in August 1786 and the ‘Prussian’ quartets (K. 575, 589 and 590) dated June 1789, May 1790 and June 1790 respectively. Just as late eighteenth-century writers single out the ‘Haydn’ quartets for critical attention on account of harmonic and tonal intricacies (see Chapter 4), so they also refer to striking technical and affective qualities of Mozart's ‘Prussian’ quartets, casting the works in a positive light. A death notice in the Franckfurter Kayserliche Reich-Ober-Post-Amtszeitung on 7 December 1791 praises the ‘Prussian’ works, ‘in which … [Mozart] nearly surpassed himself in art, modulation and intensity of expression’. In addition, Artaria announcements in December 1791 and January 1792 – albeit with a vested interest in selling printed copies – explain that they were ‘received with such general acclamation’ and are among ‘the most estimable … of the composer Mozart … [displaying] all that musical interest in respect of art, beauty and taste which must awaken pleasure and admiration not only in the amateur, but in the true connoisseur’.

While it is wise to remain circumspect about writers' motivations for expressing lofty sentiments about K. 575, 589 and 590 either in the wake of Mozart's death or in view of personal financial advancement, the references these contemporary writers make to specific musical features suggest a level of admiration that is strangely lacking – relatively speaking – in subsequent influential writings.