Document

  1994
    January 1994
        Chamber
                Haydn Six String Quartets, "Tost III", Op. 64.

Haydn Six String [Quartet] Quartets, "Tost III", Op. 64. Kodaly Quartet (Attila Falvay, Tamas Szabo, vns; Gabor Fias, va; Janos Devich, vc).

Naxos (Super budget price) (CD) 8 550673/4 (two discs: oas: 64 and 65 minutes: DDD).

8 550673—No. 1 in C; No. 2 in B minor; No. 3 in B flat. 8 550674—No. 4 in G; No. 5 in D, "The Lark"; No. 6 in E flat.

Selected comparisons:

Tatrai Qt (5/87) (HUNG) HCD11838/9

Amadeus Qt (10/91) (DG) 431 145-2GCM3

Like Handel, Haydn remains a victim of his own prodigality. And as with most of his 70-odd quartets, Op. 64, the last music he composed before his first London sojourn, is still underexposed both in the concert-hall and on disc. The exception is, of course, the so-called Lark, whose soaring opening melody and moto perpetuo finale have made it perhaps the most immediately fetching of all Haydn's quartets. But No. 6 in E flat (Haydn's homage to Mozart's K428?) is at least as fine, with its intimate and intensely argued opening movement, its poignant, exquisitely textured Andante and a finale full of instrumental fooling and insouciant contrapuntal virtuosity.

Of the other works, No. 2 in B minor is one of Haydn's most astringent pieces, from its tonally deceptive opening to the mordant, unsettling humour of the finale. Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 return to a more familiar vein of sociable wit. Both are endlessly subtle and surprising in their arguments, with cantabile slow movements of peculiar candour and eloquence. Quartet No. 1 in C, the least favoured of the six ("somehow never takes wing" was Rosemary Hughes's verdict in her excellent BBC Music Guide), is certainly the plainest in its thematic ideas. But it is an absorbing, immensely sophisticated piece, exploring an astonishing range of textures; and to mention just two salient features, the recapitulation of the leisurely first movement opens up marvellous new harmonic vistas, while the central development of the finale is a canonic tour de force.

In the field of chamber music Naxos can often hold their own against more glamorous competition, irrespective of price. And the ongoing Haydn cycle from the Kodaly Quartet has rightly won plaudits, not least from IM in these columns. As with previous issues, theirs is wonderfully civilized playing; mellow and lyrical, far removed from the highly-strung brilliance cultivated by many modern quartets. Ensemble and intonation are first-class, tempos generally spacious, with broad, natural and beautifully matched phrasing.

The Kodaly are at their very finest, I think, where Haydn is at his most searching; and the Quartets Nos. 2, 5 and 6 each receive outstanding, deeply considered performances. Listen, for instance, to their ideally judged tempos in the first movements of Nos. 5 and 6 (both movements are often taken too fast), lyrically ample yet intensely vital, their command of Haydn's long paragraphs and their keen response to moments of heightened harmonic tension. They bring an apt rhythmic toughness and a powerful dynamic range to the outer movements of No. 2, finding in the finale a touch of bitterness, even pathos, lost in fleeter, more overtly brilliant readings. The leader's incessant semiquavers in the finale of The Lark are subtly phrased and weighted, never falling into the trap of vapid virtuosity, while the finale of No. 6, for once taken at a cracking tempo, is thrilling—pungent attack, salty rhythms, with the players palpably relishing the music's comic contrapuntal energy.

In one or two movements the Kodaly's penchant for slowish tempos leads to a slight dourness. I'm thinking especially of the minuet of No. 4 (though there are some nice touches of rubato in the trio) and the first movement and the minuet of No. 3, which are both a bit heavy on their feet—and other performances I've heard have found more wit in the minuet's echoing phrases. The Kodaly also underestimate the scherzando aspect of the Allegretto variation movement of No. 1. Against that, they bring a deliciously lazy Landler lilt, enhanced by the first violin's portamentos, to the trio of No. 6 (the leader's stratospheric writing here perfectly tuned), and a grave, inward intensity to each of Haydn's slow movements. Those in Nos. 3, 4 and 5 gain by being taken as true Adagios, never tending, as in some performances, towards flowing Andantes: one consequence is that the florid arabesques towards the end of each movement emerge as deeply expressive rather than elegantly decorative.

I'd rather have the super-bargain Naxos offering than either of the rival sets of Op. 64 listed above: the Amadeus are immensely polished but inclined to skate over the music's surface, especially in slow movements, while the Tatrai can carry understatement to the point of blandness. The Naxos recording, made in a Budapest church, is resonant and less intimate than I'd ideally wish in this music. But not even the most casual lover of Haydn's quartets will regret spending a tenner on this pair of discs.

RW



		Like Handel, Haydn remains a victim of his own prodigality. And as with most of his 70-odd quartets, Op. 64, the last music he composed before his first London sojourn, is still underexposed both in the concert-hall and on disc. The exception is, of course, the so-called Lark, whose soaring opening melody and moto perpetuo finale have made it perhaps the most immediately fetching of all Haydn's quartets. But No. 6 in E flat (Haydn's homage to Mozart's K428?) is at least as fine, with its intimate and intensely argued opening movement, its poignant, exquisitely textured Andante and a finale full of instrumental fooling and insouciant contrapuntal virtuosity.



		Of the other works, No. 2 in B minor is one of Haydn's most astringent pieces, from its tonally deceptive opening to the mordant, unsettling humour of the finale. Quartets Nos. 3 and 4 return to a more familiar vein of sociable wit. Both are endlessly subtle and surprising in their arguments, with cantabile slow movements of peculiar candour and eloquence. Quartet No. 1 in C, the least favoured of the six ("somehow never takes wing" was Rosemary Hughes's verdict in her excellent BBC Music Guide), is certainly the plainest in its thematic ideas. But it is an absorbing, immensely sophisticated piece, exploring an astonishing range of textures; and to mention just two salient features, the recapitulation of the leisurely first movement opens up marvellous new harmonic vistas, while the central development of the finale is a canonic tour de force.



		In the field of chamber music Naxos can often hold their own against more glamorous competition, irrespective of price. And the ongoing Haydn cycle from the Kodaly Quartet has rightly won plaudits, not least from IM in these columns. As with previous issues, theirs is wonderfully civilized playing; mellow and lyrical, far removed from the highly-strung brilliance cultivated by many modern quartets. Ensemble and intonation are first-class, tempos generally spacious, with broad, natural and beautifully matched phrasing.



		The Kodaly are at their very finest, I think, where Haydn is at his most searching; and the Quartets Nos. 2, 5 and 6 each receive outstanding, deeply considered performances. Listen, for instance, to their ideally judged tempos in the first movements of Nos. 5 and 6 (both movements are often taken too fast), lyrically ample yet intensely vital, their command of Haydn's long paragraphs and their keen response to moments of heightened harmonic tension. They bring an apt rhythmic toughness and a powerful dynamic range to the outer movements of No. 2, finding in the finale a touch of bitterness, even pathos, lost in fleeter, more overtly brilliant readings. The leader's incessant semiquavers in the finale of The Lark are subtly phrased and weighted, never falling into the trap of vapid virtuosity, while the finale of No. 6, for once taken at a cracking tempo, is thrilling—pungent attack, salty rhythms, with the players palpably relishing the music's comic contrapuntal energy.



		In one or two movements the Kodaly's penchant for slowish tempos leads to a slight dourness. I'm thinking especially of the minuet of No. 4 (though there are some nice touches of rubato in the trio) and the first movement and the minuet of No. 3, which are both a bit heavy on their feet—and other performances I've heard have found more wit in the minuet's echoing phrases. The Kodaly also underestimate the scherzando aspect of the Allegretto variation movement of No. 1. Against that, they bring a deliciously lazy Landler lilt, enhanced by the first violin's portamentos, to the trio of No. 6 (the leader's stratospheric writing here perfectly tuned), and a grave, inward intensity to each of Haydn's slow movements. Those in Nos. 3, 4 and 5 gain by being taken as true Adagios, never tending, as in some performances, towards flowing Andantes: one consequence is that the florid arabesques towards the end of each movement emerge as deeply expressive rather than elegantly decorative.



		I'd rather have the super-bargain Naxos offering than either of the rival sets of Op. 64 listed above: the Amadeus are immensely polished but inclined to skate over the music's surface, especially in slow movements, while the Tatrai can carry understatement to the point of blandness. The Naxos recording, made in a Budapest church, is resonant and less intimate than I'd ideally wish in this music. But not even the most casual lover of Haydn's quartets will regret spending a tenner on this pair of discs.