Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 17, Nos. 1, 2, and 4

Franz Joseph Haydn (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
• Audio CD (March 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B00000ICMA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,677 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kodaly go out with a bang, July 2, 2011

By 

Bernard Michael O'Hanlon (Wilsons Prom, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 17, Nos. 1, 2, and 4 (Audio CD)

Well, this is the easiest review to write in the world. The Kodaly topped off their cycle with incandescent performances of Opus 17. Ignore that old grump Hans Keller: there's some fine music here, not least Number 4 which is the only quartet that Haydn ever wrote in C Minor. By any standard, even late Haydn, it is a masterpiece. What longing fills its slow movement - if you had told me that it had been written decades later in 1790 when Haydn was so desperate to leave the Esterhazy birdcage, I would have believed you. Beautifully terraced, the last movement is energy itself. Elsewhere, it is always interesting to hear Haydn in E Major (to wit Symphony No 29) - so it proves to be with the first quartet of this set.

The Kodaly are well recorded. If you are in the hunt for Opus 17 then your quarry is here.