Release Date: 14 April 2023
Label: MDG
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 760623227528
Genres: Classical Chamber Music
Composer/Series: Joseph Haydn
Description
On this new recording from MDG, the Leipzig String Quartet celebrates Haydn's musical ideas with wit and charm. Brilliant in the expansive solo passages, but above all, of the highest standard in chamber music, the three quartets op. 71 revive the excitement of Vienna and London of the 1790s.
The quartets op. 71, which are still associated with the aristocratic name today, are evidence of Haydn's pronounced business acumen after his period of service with Prince Esterhazy. But even more fascinating to us today is the sovereign mastery of a composer at the height of his creative powers.
Today, Haydn is known for skilfully exploiting the acoustic conditions of his performance venues when composing. The powerful chords at the beginning of Quartet No. 1, for example, seem to literally call the audience to silence - with up to 900 people in the Hanover Square Rooms, surely not without reason... The reverberation of the concert hall, already praised by contemporaries, comes into its own again, and again through surprising pauses.
"These musicians, all former members of the Gewandhausorchester, infuse an astonishing degree of vitality into these works. Their approach balances meticulous observation of Haydn's instructions concerning phrasing, tempo, dynamics, and repeats with rhythmic verve and lightness that makes these performances enrapturing." – MusicWeb International
Tracklisting
Cologne Chamber Choir, Collegium Cartusianum, Peter Neumann
Stephen Marchionda
Christian Euler, Paul Rivinius
Caterva Musica, Erdal Akkaya
Leipzig String Quartet
Andrzej Szadejko, Agnieszka Budzinska-Bennett, Cracow Singers
Lea Suter
Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leopolder-Quartett, Munchner Klaviertrio
Various
Beethoven
Janacek/Dvorak
Mendelssohn
Schubert
Berg
Leipziger Streichquartett
