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