Search - Franz Joseph Haydn :: Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 64, 76, 77

Great Bargain for Fine Period Quartet Playing Haydn's Last G

Doug - Haydn Fan | California | 05/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just a short review alerting Amazon music-lovers to a sensational Haydn offering - a bargain box set offering of the fine original instrument quartet group, Quatuor Mosaïques, recorded in fine sound in excellent performances of the late Haydn quartets. The Naive box pictured with the man in a Turkish costume doesn't reveal the nature of the packaging - these are not simply cheap paper sleeves of Cds stuck in to a box. Instead, this offering holds the four original Cd jewel boxes, here grouped together. Opus 64 comes in two single Cd jewel boxes, while Opus 76 is a double jewel box of two Cds; the last included Cd is Opus 77. All are simply placed in a shrink-wrapped box - the only difference between buying these individually and this box set - apart from your savings! - is that the Cd jewel boxes are not shrink wrapped, something that often occurs with European offerings. Given the quality of the performances I highly recommend this box set!



The sets can be checked out for individual reviews as follows,



Opus 64,



Haydn: String Quartets Op 64 Nos 1, 3, 6 /Quatuor Mosaiques

Haydn: String Quartets Op 64 Nos 2, 4, 5 /Quatuor Mosaiques



Opus 76,



Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76



Opus 77,



Haydn: String Quartets Op 77 /Quatuor Mosaiques



My general assessment of the recordings can add little to the many accolades this group has garnered. The sound is very good, very up to date, and the orignal instruments sound excellent. A tendency to trim back on vibrato isn't a problem when you have this sort of talent at play. This group had been playing together for going on two decades when they essayed these performances - they play like a very established, highly confident quartet, with ready awareness of each other, and fine ensemble.



(I also must put in a plug for this group in Beethoven's Opus 18, Beethoven: String Quartets Opus 18 Nos 1 & 4 /Quatuor Mosaiques Beethoven: String Quartets Opus 18 Nos. 2 & 3

Beethoven: String Quartets Opus 18 Nos. 5 & 6 They're really superb in a favorite quartet of mine, #4, the C minor.)



All in all Quatuor Mosaïque seems to be happiest - at their best - when the music is most defined - the better the music, the better they play! As others have pointed out, these musicians met while playing in the Concentus Musicus Wien, and the French name belies their Austrian background. From the very opening phrases of Haydn's first quartet in G Major from Opus 76 it's clear they're as at home in Haydn as Br'er Rabbit in the briar patch. My only small complaint is that in the slightly less achieved works - such as the less well known works from Opus 64 - the Quatuor Mosaïques tend to play around a lot, but don't seem quite the comfortable advocates they are in the best quartets - a perfect example of this is their playing in the famous Lark Quartet, which comes across in their performance - and rightly - as a considerable advancement over its stablemates. The group tends to take repeats, but that's not a big problem in works of this length, and in truth the repeats help a listener with new music, particularly in lesser known quartets, such as several from Opus 64.



Last, these recording give the lie to critics who insist original instruments must inherently sound sour or harsh: the Quatuor Mosaïques certainly achieve a remarkable level of stylish music-making for a group playing with original instruments!



Great deal and some really wonderful playing!







"