In 1788, Joseph Haydn composed Two Quartets opus 54 and opus 55 (known as the "Tost" Quartets) which were named after Johann Tost, a violonist in the Esterházy Orchestra (the Esterházy family is known for its association with the composer Joseph Haydn, who served as their Kapellmeister).
Opus 54 (Hob.III:57-59) consists of 3 quartets. This quartet is the second (of the opus) Haydn wrote, yet the first to appear in the score.
Komitas quartet:
Eduard Tadevosian
Souren Hakhnazarian
Alexander Kosemian
Felix Simonian
A few words about the quartet: The Komitas Quartet, which will soon be celebrating 80 years of activities, is one of those rare ensembles. It was established in late 1924 under the initiative of four Armenian students at the Moscow Conservatory, and has won many competitions. The repertoire of the Komitas Quartet is very rich and includes some great examples of Western and Russian classical music by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Ravel, Debussy, Borodin, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and others. The Komitas Quartet also gave the first performances of many works for string quartet and has frequently performed with world-famous musicians, including Gilels, Richter, Shostakovich, Merzhanov, Perlman, and others.