Haydn: ‘Sun’ Quartets Op.20, Nos. 4-6 (Vol. 2)

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The Chiaroscuro Quartet revel in the composer's play of ideas...It was the interpretation of No. 5 that blind-sided me on a first listening...This is a deeply absorbing reading, and can make... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2017, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 30th Jun 2017
Catalogue No: BIS2168
Label: BIS
Length: 75 minutes

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October 2017

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Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20 No. 4 in D major 'Sun'

Work length29:31

$6.05

$10.35

$14.00

Chiaroscuro Quartet
Recorded: December 2015
Recording Venue: Sendesaal Bremen, Germany

I. Allegro di molto

Track length11:12

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Un poco adagio e affettuoso

Track length8:31

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

III. Menuet alla zingarese. Allegretto

Track length2:01

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Presto e scherzando

Track length7:47

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20 No. 5 in F minor

Work length24:52

$5.05

$7.75

$10.50

Chiaroscuro Quartet
Recorded: December 2015
Recording Venue: Sendesaal Bremen, Germany

I. Moderato

Track length11:44

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

II. Menuet

Track length4:24

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Adagio

Track length5:01

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Finale. Fuga a 2 soggetti

Track length3:43

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 20 No. 6 in A Major

Work length20:38

$4.50

$6.50

$8.75

Chiaroscuro Quartet
Recorded: December 2015
Recording Venue: Sendesaal Bremen, Germany

I. Allegro di molto e scherzando

Track length9:31

$1.50

$2.60

$3.50

II. Adagio

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Menuet

Track length2:03

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Fuga con 3 soggetti. Allegro

Track length4:09

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

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The so-called ‘Sun’ quartets of Joseph Haydn’s Op. 20 are often said to represent an unprecedented flowering of his string quartet writing, establishing a high watermark to which every other subsequent composer of quartets has paid homage. The six quartets are not a monument of compositional rectitude or propriety, rather, it is their flexibility, variety and unpredictability that make them so compelling. Every bar is full of a sense of musical adventure, a palpable feeling that Haydn is creating bridges between styles and ideas and forging a composite vision of four-part string writing that draws on every historical source that he knew as well as the furthest reaches of his musical imagination.

On this second instalment, the last three quartets of the set are performed by the Chiaroscuro Quartet, an international ensemble formed in 2005 by the violinists Alina Ibragimova (Russia) and Pablo Hernán Benedí (Spain), the Swedish violist Emilie Hörnlund and cellist Claire Thirion from France. Dubbed ‘a trailblazer for the authentic performance of High Classical chamber music’ in Gramophone, the quartet plays on gut strings, and the previous instalment was singled out as a recommended disc by The Strad, whose reviewer described its contents as ‘period-instrument performances of the utmost subtlety and refinement’.

Reviews

October 2017

The Chiaroscuro Quartet revel in the composer's play of ideas...It was the interpretation of No. 5 that blind-sided me on a first listening...This is a deeply absorbing reading, and can make other interpretations seem almost trite. It’s partly the sheer timbral and dynamic range on offer: each note is given its resonance, keening dissonances fully realised, high lines lent a fine spun, fragile beauty.

4th August 2017

In this completion of the set the players again use gut strings, but it is less the period light touch of the performances that is captivating than the inexhaustible richness of their imagination. Every unexpected twist and turn is as fresh as the day it was written.

July 2017

The more I listened to the Chiaroscuros, the more I found myself tuning into their world. I very much hope that they will return to Haydn soon.

22nd June 2017

done with exquisite taste. The playing is intense and refined, exploratory and poised. The sound is featherweight, but there is grit and substance when needed. Alina Ibragimova leads with typical grace and ferocity, but this is real chamber music: the attack is immaculate and spirited from all four musicians.

July 2017

The finale’s dramatic profiling is relished with an exuberance and temporal flexibility such that one wonders afresh at the blazing ingenuity of Haydn’s creative imagination.

Haydn: ‘Sun’ Quartets Op.20, Nos. 4-6 (Vol. 2)

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