Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 42 in D minor

“These are altogether fine performances, with all the Lindsay's characteristic warmth and affection.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2006 ****

“The two Op 77 quartets are among Haydn's greatest works and The Lindsays produce an unflagging energy to match their inventive vigour. They always seem to hit just the right tempo and so give every movement a persuasive character. In Op 77 No 1, we immediately appreciate the spry march rhythms of the first movement, the majesty of the Adagio, and the presto Minuet's whirling motion, with a particularly fine account of the wild trio section.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2006

“Tuning, balance and blend are impeccable; vibrato is not avoided, but used to specific expressive or colouristic effect. Those who hanker for a combination of the clarity of the best 'period' playing, with the warmth of the Hungarian tradition will find it here.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 ****

“The veteran Festetics Quartet are uneasy with presto finales. But they aren't slack; instead they are tautly metrical so the notes do not flow freely across the bar-lines. It may be an aspect of their style that is direct, sharp in attack and stricter than usual in rhythm, yet far from indifferent. In all the works these musicians meticulously observe phrase indications, choose dynamics where there are none, repeat both parts of a Minuet after its Trio and differentiate between the various accents. Equally meticulously they probe the slow movements of Op 33. Haydn is said to have been in love at the time he wrote this set; and, austerity of approach notwithstanding, it is easy to discern in, say, the Largo of No 4 an ardent lyric for the lady, Luigia Polzelli. Not unexpectedly, the Largo e cantabile of No 5 is seen in an even more ascetic light, G minor starkly affirmed, the violins (antiphonally separated, as always with this group) contributing to a bare-boned interpretation of the text. Not comfortable. But the Festetics don't buy comfort and the close, 'rosiny' sound brings the results right into the room. No mistaking the message. No mistaking the gauntlets either.
Unsettling – but required listening.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“It is impossible not to enjoy this.” Classic CD

“The most relevant comparisons for this collection are the Aeolian Quartet on Decca and the Kodály Quartet on Naxos. The all-digital Naxos series features performances that are, in the main, musically reliable and technically proficient.
But turn back to the 1973-6 Aeolian series, and every work becomes an event, every quirk of harmony, rhythm or timing is etched with maximum relish.
Comparative disc layouts begin to differ from CD 3, and the Angeles omit The Seven LastWords, a work which, beautiful as it is, wasn't originally written for string quartet. Recordingwise, Philips favours a warm, open sound, balanced much as you would hear it from the centre stalls in a smallish-size concert hall. Decca's analogue recordings are closer, dryer, more sensitive to extraneous noise and commonly balanced in favour of Emanuel Hurwitz's first violin.
It's a clear and intimate sound frame and the leader bias actually suits the divertimento-style early quartets, but Philips's more refined engineering makes for less strenuous listening in concert-length sessions. A handful of edits are the only blots on Philips's otherwise immaculate aural landscape.
The svelte texture of the Angeles' pooled sound, their consistent evenness in full chords and the musical like-mindedness of individual players, whether in excited prestos or in shared rubato is admirable. As to contrasts in playing styles, think of the relatively smooth-toned Juilliard or Emerson Quartets (Angeles) as compared with the internally differentiated Amadeus Quartet (Aeolian). The Angeles are generally lighter, faster and subtler in their use of tone colouring whereas the Aeolians' roster of virtues includes strong (even emphatic) characterisation, consistently flexible phrasing and a more pungent approach to rhythm.
Surfing the set for good sampling points brings us, initially, to the early quartets, where both groups sport some superb first-violin solo work, tastefully inflected with Lenski, more candidly expressive with Hurwitz. A particularly telling comparison is provided by the quietly contrapuntal Minuet of Op 17 No 1, where the Angeles' seamless legato contrasts against the Aeolians' near staccato. The exquisite Adagio of Op 20 No 6 is another good place to compare, the Angeles with their perfectly timed pauses, warm cello line and overall restraint set against the more romantic, even rhapsodic, Aeolian. Listening to the first bars of Op 33 No 1 is like eavesdropping on a small gathering mid-conversation, where the cello line gradually gains in urgency. The Angeles' sotto voce handling of the scherzo to Op 33 No 3 is wonderful: it's rather more pensive than the Aeolians and marks much more of a contrast with the chirping trio.
Op 50 No 4's Andante anticipates the dramatic interjections that trouble various late Schubert slow movements. Both groups are effective here, though when the cello marks an expected change of key two minutes or so into the movement, it's the Aeolian's Derek Simpson who makes the biggest impact: you can almost see the rosin erupt from his strings. In Op 50 No 5 late Beethoven springs more readily to mind, but there the Angeles' extra speed and restraint is more effective. Note how beautifully they negotiate the quiet alternation between upper and lower voices towards the end of Op 50 No 6's Poco adagio and the sudden blossoming that follows.
Then again, Op 54 No 1's mobile Allegretto second movement harbours the potential to switch from tenseness to lyrical effusiveness, which the Angeles exploit to the full, as they do for the rhapsodising Adagio of Op 54 No 2. Late Beethoven is evoked once more, this time the Cavatina from Op 130.
Beam up around three minutes into the Adagio of the Lark Quartet (Op 64 No 5) and you'll note how skilfully the Angeles cue a ritardando, while the bracing finale to Op 74 No 3 has just the right bounce to offset all the breathless excitement. The Sunrise Quartet (Op 76 No 4) opens like a spring flower (never more so than in the Angeles' ecstatically controlled performance) and Op 77 No 1's cheeky Allegro moderato bounds in with perfectly modulated high spirits.
Turning to other competition, the Lindsays, Amadeus, Vienna Konzerthaus, Quatuor Mosaïques, Pro Arte and Takács, all have added substantiallyto the Haydn quartet discography, and all have their value. However, in this particular context it really is a head-to-head contest between two 'complete' sets similarly presented.
Richard Wigmore contributes detailed annotation, quite different from Lindsay Kemp's overview for Decca, but just as useful and equally well written. The Angeles appeal perhaps primarily for their restrained expressiveness and consistent attention to detail. Philips's superior recording is another bonus. The Aeolians generate more immediate heat but, ultimately, the Angeles' intelligence and cooler blending pay the higher musical dividends.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010