Here Joseph Haydn's music is revealed as the perfect expression of truth. And the Auryn's performance of his string quartets is exactly as it should be: vigorous, beautiful to listen to, and full of feeling. A rediscovery both of sheer beauty and intellectual development.'

Composer: Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)

Performers:
Matthias Lingenfelder, violin
Jens Oppermann, violin
Stewart Eaton, viola
Andreas Arndt, violoncello


Track Listing:
Disc One:
1. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major: Vivace assai
2. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Largo e cantabile
3. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Scherzo. Allegro
4. String quartet op. 33 No. 5, Hoboken III: 41 in G major:Finale. Allegretto
5. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Allegro moderato
6. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Scherzo. Allegro
7. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Largo e sostenuto
8. String quartet op. 33 No. 2, Hoboken III:38 in E flat major: Finale. Presto
9. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Allegro moderato
10. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Scherzo. Allegro di molto
11. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Andante
12. String quartet op. 33 No. 1, Hoboken III:37 in B minor: Finale. Presto
Disc Two:
1. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Allegro moderato
2. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Scherzo. Allegretto
3. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: Adagio ma non troppo
4. String quartet op. 33 No. 3, Hoboken III:39 in C major: (Finale) Rondo. Presto
5. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Vivace assai
6. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Andante
7. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Scherzo. Allegretto
8. String quartet op. 33 No. 6, Hoboken III:42 in D major: Finale. Allegretto
9. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Allegro moderato
10. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Scherzo. Allegretto
11. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: Largo
12. String quartet op. 33 No. 4, Hoboken III:40 in B flat major: (Finale). Presto

Timing: 122:22


Review:
01/15/2009
Audiophile Audition
Steven Ritter

Wow. This, when done, will rank with the finest Haydn Quartet series.

Haydn himself was in a particularly heightened state of awareness when he commenced writing his Op. 33 String Quartets, even going so far as to suggest in a letter to music-loving friends that these quartets were "composed in an entirely new and special way." It had been ten years since he last wrote for the medium (his Op. 20), and he had learned many things since that time, producing a series of wonderful symphonies and a number of operas.

It was the last that were to figure into the gestation of these quartets. To say that they are on a par with the advances that Beethoven was to make leaping to his last quartets is not an exaggeration; Haydn's works are a sea change from what went before, and contain some masterly examples of his art that he would hardly top in even his later quartets. The typical Haydn teases are all there, along with bona fide scherzos and third-movement slow pieces, and drunken offset rhythms coupled with mangled melodic fits and turns designed to throw off even the most cautious listener. But most of all is an extraordinary sense of melodic refinement that he undoubtedly picked up from his opera experience. These are, quite simply, some of the most tuneful and beautifully ear-balmed quartets ever penned, and not a one is anything less than a stroke of genius and gift to humanity.

The Auryn Quartet has newly recorded these works, volume six of 14, and when they are finished they will rank among the world's finest recorded Haydn Quartet cycles. The sound is resonant and nicely shaped, the instruments breathe, and the members of the quartet navigate around Haydn's numerable complexities with all of the skill of a swordfighter against a tied up dummy--complete mastery. I thoroughly enjoyed this release, and look forward to hearing more. If you are looking for a jumping-into point in the Haydn Quartets, look no further.