I. Fritz

The movement is a ricercar based on a theme given by King Frederick the Great of Prussia, on which Bach's Musical Offering is based.

II. Franz

According to László Somfai's discovery, Haydn hid an acrostic of the phrase 'Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser' ('God save Francis the Emperor') in the main theme of his String Quartet in C major, Op. 76 No. 3: g-e-f-d-c. These five notes - now with Haydn's harmonies - appear again and again throughout the movement as a simultaneity of independent voices (see the music example below).

Péter Tornyai