Amazing Haydn.
Let’s set the stage of the time: Mozart died in 1791. He had dedicated some compositions to Haydn. And Haydn outlived him.
In 1793, when Josef Haydn returned home to Vienna after a visit to London, he wrote a set of six string quartets for Count Anton Apponyi, a chamberlain at the Imperial Court. The set was broken up into two groups of three and sold to separate publishers, thus becoming the Op. 71 and Op. 74 quartets.
The works possess an almost orchestral quality, with frequent modulations, dynamic variations and increasingly virtuosic writing reminiscent of the ‘London’ symphonies. Above all, they display the composer’s astonishing elegance, lyricism and huge skill in combining the profound with the light-hearted.
In these interpretations, the Takács Quartet display an absolute unanimity of tone and style, and they cement their reputation as one of today’s great string ensembles.
The Track Listings:
String Quartet in C major Op. 74 No. 1
1. Allegro
2. Andantino grazioso
3. . Menuetto: Allegro-Trio
4. Vivace
String Quartet in F major Op. 74 No. 2
5. Allegro spiritoso
6. Andante grazioso
7. Menuetto-Trio
8. Presto
String Quartet in G minor ‘Rider’ Op. 74 No. 3
9. Allegro
10. Largo assai
11. Menuetto: Allegretto-Trio
12. Allegro con brio
Here is the Haydn String Quartet Op. 74 nº 3 in G minor; the 3rd movement: Menuett. Allegretto:
And next, here is the Takács Quartet’s violinist Edward Dusinberre coaching the Linden Quartet on matching their playing style to create a uniform sound in Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76, No. 5, first movement:
Finally, here is the Szymanowski Quartet playing the Haydn String Quartet in C Major, Op.76 no.3 “Kaiserquartett”, first movement:
Tags: Takacs Quartet, Josef Haydn, String Quartet Op. 74
