Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 54 No. 2 in C major

The Sacconi Quartet's first release on their own label, voted RECORDING OF THE MONTH by MusicWeb International.

This CD features Haydn's masterful opus 54 quartets complete. Written for virtuoso violinist and friend of Haydn's Johann Tost, these quartets feature florid and virtuosic writing for all four parts – truly a conversation between four musical voices.

“The Sacconis seem to perfectly understand every nuance, find exactly the right tempo for each movement . . . they play with a verve and style which is perfect for this composer.” MusicWeb International.

This outstanding performance from the young Sacconi Quartet captures Haydn at his best, from the breezy, energetic opening of quartet op54/1, the high spirits of the first movement of op54/2, the tragic and sparse second movement, and the passionate and free op54/3. The sumptuous artwork is based on an original painting by Neil Canning, providing the first in a series of cover images for the Sacconi's recordings.

This CD contains three complete quartets (op54/1, op54/2, op54/3) by the “Father of the string quartet”, Haydn, with a total playing time of 63mins.

This is the debut recording by former BBC New Generation Artist the Szymanowski Quartet, performing three contrasting works that perfectly demonstrate these young instrumentalists’ immense charisma and countless fine qualities, in the elegance of Haydn to the rustic hues of Dvorák, and the folk-tinged neo-classicism of their Polish compatriot Grazyna Bacewicz who was a protégé of the ensemble’s namesake. What links these three very different works is that they were written by composers who knew the medium from the inside; all were performers in quartets at some point during their careers.

The Szymanowski Quartet joins a distinguished roster of young artists introduced by Avie Records over the years. Since establishing themselves in Warsaw in 1995, the ensemble has won numerous international awards, including the 2005 Karol Szymanowski Award, marking the first time a string quartet had received the honour. The Quartet has performed throughout the world, at the BBC Proms, City of London, Bath and Schleswig-Holstein Festivals, in London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and tours in France, Germany and Australia. Since 2000, the Szymanowski Quartet has been in Residence at the Musikhochschule in Hanover, Germany.

For this anniversary year of Haydn, the Auryn Quartet has been preparing a complete cycle of the Haydn Quartets which will be presented by WDR Cologne in a total of 18 concerts.

The tenth of eleven volumes; the last set, of Op.76 is due to be released in May

Latest critical research into the manuscripts has been incorporated within the parts used

The Buchberger Quartet has attracted considerable critical attention and acclaim for their Haydn recordings; Haydn’s music has been central to the quartet’s repertoire since its establishment by Hubert Buchberger over 20 years ago.

These recordings are the culmination of years of practical study and reflection

This painstaking complete cycle of Haydn’s quartets nears its climax with some of the most brilliant, quirky and virtuosic examples of the genre. It may have been the extraordinary success of the symphonies he wrote for the brilliant orchestra of the Loge Olympique that prompted Haydn to conceive hisnew quartets for the Germanborn Parisian publisher Jean-Georges Sieber. Haydn knew well the Parisian predilection for soloistic display, evinced in symphonic music by the great popularity in France of the ‘symphonie concertante’ and in chamber music by the genre ‘quatuor brillant’. He was able to develop his new quartets along the same lines without any sacrifice of complexity or depth. But virtuosity is never remotely an end in itself. Indeed, in the C major Quartet, Op.54 No.2, especially, it becomes a key element in music of astonishing force and rhetorical boldness: in the spacious opening movement, with its wide tonal reach, and almost orchestral depth of sonority; and in the C minor Adagio, where the first violin weaves wild, gypsy-style fantasies above the brooding chorale-like theme in the lower voices.

Taken together, both sets exhibit qualities of experimentation, gratifying instrumental virtuosity and dramatic expressiveness, especially in the slow movements, that make them a constant source of delight and satisfaction.