The String Quartet in A flat major Op 44 No 3 is in the relatively unusual key of A flat and opens with thematic invention worthy of Haydn, but which departs after some thirteen bars along less related paths, a feature of his music which brought him some criticism at the time. The lyrical opening melody of the Adagio introduces a movement whose gentle mood is well sustained throughout while, following the Menuetto, the work is rounded off by a busy, rhythmically lolloping equestrian finale.
from notes by Graham Melville-Mason © 2000