Customer Reviews

Haydn: String Quartets Op. 76, Nos. 1-3

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Until recently, the Kodaly Quartet has not been very well known outside its native Hungary, although they have won several awards, performed at numerous concerts throughout eastern Europe, and recorded for the Naxos label for several years. One of this chamber music ensemble's most notable achievements for Naxos is a complete cycle of string quartets composed by Joseph Haydn. This CD contains the first three of Haydn's "Erdody" quartets, Op. 76. (They were named for Count Erdody, to whom Haydn dedicated them.) Many music critics consider the "Erdody" quartets to be the finest of the 83 Haydn composed during his long life. The Kodaly Quartet performs them with tremendous enthusiasm, vitality, and an obvious enjoyment of the music. Fast movements are lightly sprung, slow movements are played with just the right touch of gravity, and "menuettos" rollick merrily along. Especially enjoyable for its hauntingly beautiful melody is the second movement - "poco adagio, cantabile" - of Op. 76 No. 3 , the "Emperor" Quartet. Throughout all three of the quartets on this disc, Haydn's sunny, optimistic disposition and his tremendous musical originality and inventiveness shine through.

This CD has excellent sound quality. The balance between four members of the quartet is nearly perfect, giving the performances a wonderful sense of realism and immediacy. The acoustics of the recording venue are warm and spacious.

Awarded a "rosette" by the Penguin Guide to Compact Discs, (the "rosette" is the Penguin Guide's the highest accolade, given to a recording of special distinction.) this CD is a special listening experience in every way. Highly recommended!

Often as I skim over the available recordings of a particular piece I am looking for, I ignore the super-budget price recordings, suspecting that the sound quality will be dreadful, or that it will be some obscure live recording punctuated by coughing fits among the audience all through the slow movements. Don't let the price fool you here. To begin with, all six quartets (4-6 are available on another CD for the same remarkable price) are absolute stunners--full of grace, lightness and invention. No question of Haydn being in the company of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert as far as the string quartet genre is concerned. And the Kodaly Quartet is equal to the task. They play with unabashed joy and vigor, yet not without restraint where appropriate. A nicely balanced sound too. Haydn is coming to mean more and more to me as a composer, and I have over a dozen of his symphonies and concerti; yet the sheer amount of piano sonatas, piano trios and string quartets is mind-boggling, and it's difficult to know where to begin. Quality performances at prices such as these make it a lot easier to make those serendipitous discoveries, and I intend to buy a few more in this Naxos series.

The Kodaly Quartet's recordings give lie to the idea that there has to be anything second rate about budget priced recordings. When Naxos signed up this Hungarian group, it seems to have done very well for itself, for the performers, and certainly for us listeners. This disc was one of the first by the Kodaly Quartet that I bought, and I now have probably over a dozen of their recordings including more of their Haydn quartet cycle. In my opinion, they consistently and easily hold their own with any "name" group. None of their performances has disappointed. And Naxos's digital recordings also are as good as any.

As for the music itself, it would be presumptuous to praise Haydn. Haydn's quartets may not be as well known as Mozart's or Beethoven's, but Haydn is Haydn, and his music surely belongs in the same rank. In many ways, Haydn was the innovator, Mozart and Beethoven the followers, before each of them went off on their own paths. These accessible and affordable performances should boost the popularity of the Haydn quartets.

Although most listeners tend to regard Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) as primarily a composer of symphonies, his string quartets span a larger portion of his compositional career. Haydn wrote his first quartet while in his twenties and his final quartet in 1801. The quartets show Haydn at his best. They are full of melody, counterpoint, and collaboration and dialog among the four instruments They are an ideal introduction to chamber music and a source of endless joy to explore.

The six quartets of opus 76, known as the "Erody" quartets were composed in 1797 when Haydn was at the height of his powers. They were written during the same period that saw the composition of Haydn's oratorios "The Creation" and "The Seasons". The CD under review consists of the first three of the opus 76 quartets performed by the Kodaly Quartet. This group has recorded the entire Haydn quartet cycle on Naxos at a budget price. There is no better recording of this music to be found. This CD has received the Penguin "rosette" award for recordings of outstanding merit.

The first quartet,in G major, opens with three emphatic chords followed by the entrance of each of the four instruments in turn beginning with the cello. There is a swinging secondary theme for solo violin. The second movement, marked adagio sostenuto, begins with a glowing theme stated in unison by all four instruments. The opening theme is followed by a duet between the cello and violin followed by an embellished return of the opening. The menuet is marked presto and moves in the direction of a Beethoven scherzo. The minuet theme is lively and skippy with spiked notes in the violin's upper register. The trio is a dance-like with the two violins echoing each other over plucked lower strings. The final movement is unusual in that it opens in the minor key. It features a great deal of contrapuntal writing among the instruments before finally turning into G major for its conclusion.

The second quartet, in D minor, is known as the "Quintem" after the opening movement, which consists of a theme in repeated falling fifths. Thie movement increases in intensity, and the falling fifths become the basis for harmonic accompaniment as well as for the primary theme. The second movement, andante, includes a lovely violin solo over an accompaniment which varies from plucked strings to bowed strings. The minuet in this quartet has a nickname of its own, the "Hexenmenuett" (Witches minuet). It is a highly unusual, rhythmic movemen in which the higher and lower strings alternate with each other in playing a bizarre, "witch-like" theme. The finale, marked vicace, begins quietly in the minor. The tempo becomes much quicker towards the end of the movement as it concludes in the major key. The "Quintem" is one of the best-known of Haydn's quartets.

The final work on this CD, the quartet in C major, is known as the "Emperor". The focus of this quartet is in the second movement, marked Poco adagio, cantabile. In the movement Haydn takes one of his own songs, which became the Austrian national anthem, and subjects it to a series of variations. (Franz Schubert also used one of his own songs as the basis for a slow movement in his "Death and the Maiden" quartet and in his "Trout" quintet.) The movement opens with the majestic theme played slowly in in unison. The theme is followed by four variations, each of which features one of the voices of the quartet playing the solo. In the first variation, the second violin has the lead, with much embellishment and filigree in the first violin. The cello sings the theme in the second variation with a subdued accompaniment. The third variation is given to the viola, with embellishment from its companions. The final movement features the first violin, with a more comlex interlacing of part-writing than in the prior three variations. This is stately, first-rate music. The three remaining movements of the quartet essentially showcase the "emperor" movement.

This CD consists of great music beautifully performed. I am pleased that the disk has received considerable attention and perceptive reviews on this site.

I have enjoyed this Cd greatly. The sound is wonderful and the Kodaly quartet plays this exqisite music in a moving and tasteful manner. These quartets are chamber music at its most intricate and enjoyable. Most importantly, they made me want to buy more chamber music... which I did! So enjoyable and highly recommended.

This was the first CD from NAXOS that I bought. Let me just say this is a great CD. I find myself playing it over and over and thank goodness that the Kodaly Quartet has done almost if not all of Haydn's String works. A truly great piece of work with awesome sound quality.

Well, it is not often in my music collection of several hundred "classical" CD's that I find music that still moves me to tears. The quartets are so interesting for me on all levels and how could you find them better played? Many of Haydn's quartets are worth purchase but opus 76 has a special place in this genre. Every composer has a special area where he (not many she's unfortunately) has mastered. One thinks of Mozart and the operas or Beethoven and the symphonies. Well here is where Haydn has never been surpassed.

Do the recordings on this CD rank at the greatest of Haydn's work? IMHO, no (I reserve that for certain of his symphonies and masses); however, is everything you eat chock full of all of the nutrients you need with only the minimum amount of calories? The artists approach the music with style and delicacy. If you are or live with an aficionado of this musical era, I encourage you to add this CD to your/his/her collection.

Whether you are a Haydn connosieur, or even a newbie curious in regard to this work: this recording is outstanding. A note in regard to compositional quality: in terms of full sets of String Quartets, this is most certainly the best set of the 18th century, and only overtaken by Beethoven's late set of quartets in the 19th.

Although I might put the historically performed rendition of these works by the Quatuor Mosaique on a higher level of preference, it's simply my own personal taste (I do sometimes prefer performances of these works on period instruments...you might not). You can't go wrong with this cd. All the music is brought out in striking fashion by the Kodaly Q.

Don't even consider this one too much: GET it, this and its companion op. 76 nos. 4-6.

I don't really have add anything about this CD. The performances are excellent as is the recorded sound. I would like to say that new classical music lovers who have yet to advance to chamber music, should really enjoy this great music. The two named quartets are especially good with the finale of the 3rd quartet being one of my favorite movements in all of music.