If You are New to Beethoven's String Quartets

Before you plunge into the amazing and not altogether serene world of Beethoven's string quartets, you probably would benefit from some exposure to the string quartets of Haydn and Mozart.  Franz Joseph Haydn is generally regarded as the father of the string quartet form.  Haydn began composing string quartets early in his career (reportedly at the age of 18), and he continued to compose for two violins, viola and cello throughout his long and storied musical career.  He composed a total of 68 string quartets.   The six string quartets catalogued at Opus 20, which Haydn composed in 1772 at the age of 40, are generally regarded as the beginning of Haydn's greatest work in the string quartet form.  There is a very informative Wikipedia article on Haydn's Opus 20 string quartets at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_Quartets,_Op._20_(Haydn).  In addition to the six Opus 20 string quartets, Haydn's Opus 33, the so-called "Russian" string quartets, a set of six string quartets composed in 1781, and the six "Erdody" string quartets of Opus 76, composed in 1796 and 1797, are great background listening before entering the mind-altering and even shocking world Beethoven's string quartets.