Artist: The London Haydn Quartet
Album: Haydn: String Quartets Op 50
Genre: Classical
Release Date: 2016
Audio Format:: FLAC (tracks) 24 bit, 96 kHz
Duration: 02:28:52
Total Tracks: 24
Total Size: 2,91 GB

Tracklist:

01. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 50 No. 1: I. Allegro (08:43)
02. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 50 No. 1: II. Adagio (07:28)
03. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 50 No. 1: III. Menuetto: Poco allegretto (03:14)
04. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in B flat major, Op. 50 No. 1: IV. Vivace assai (04:49)
05. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in C major, Op. 50 No. 2: I. Vivace (12:16)
06. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in C major, Op. 50 No. 2: II. Adagio (04:44)
07. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in C major, Op. 50 No. 2: III. Menuetto: Allegro (04:00)
08. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in C major, Op. 50 No. 2: IV. Vivace assai (07:01)
09. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 50 No. 3: I. Allegro con brio (06:22)
10. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 50 No. 3: II. Andante più tosto allegretto (07:23)
11. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 50 No. 3: III. Menuetto: Allegretto (04:47)
12. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 50 No. 3: IV. Presto (04:43)
13. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 4: I. Spiritoso (09:05)
14. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 4: II. Andante (07:54)
15. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 4: III. Menuetto: Poco allegretto (04:14)
16. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F sharp minor, Op. 50 No. 4: IV. Fuga: Allegro molto (02:06)
17. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F major ‘The Dream’, Op. 50 No. 5: I. Allegro moderato (07:45)
18. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F major ‘The Dream’, Op. 50 No. 5: II. Poco adagio (03:46)
19. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F major ‘The Dream’, Op. 50 No. 5: III. Menuetto: Allegretto (04:21)
20. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in F major ‘The Dream’, Op. 50 No. 5: IV. Vivace (06:06)
21. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in D major ‘The Frog’, Op. 50 No. 6: I. Allegro (09:50)
22. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in D major ‘The Frog’, Op. 50 No. 6: II. Poco adagio (06:41)
23. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in D major ‘The Frog’, Op. 50 No. 6: III. Menuetto: Allegretto (04:41)
24. The London Haydn Quartet – String Quartet in D major ‘The Frog’, Op. 50 No. 6: IV. Allegro con spirito (06:44)

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The London Haydn Quartet turns to the six Op 50 quartets. More serious—intellectually taut—than the Op 33 ‘Russian’ quartets which they follow in Haydn’s output, these six ‘Prussian’ quartets dazzle in such committed performances as these.Published in 1787 and dedicated to the cello-playing King of Prussia, the six Op 50 Quartets comprise some of Haydn’s most obsessive achievements in the art of making much from little—of drawing the most varied structures, inventions, textures and feelings from the most limited thematic material. The serenely animated opening Allegro of Op 50 No 1 unfolds from little more than a throbbing bass and a tiny cliché turn, while the principle idea of the witty finale of No 6 is no more than a single note reiterated on alternate strings—a sound that has gained the work the nick name of the ‘Frog Quartet’.

Haydn constrained himself still further in No 4 by opting for F sharp minor, an obscure key, exceptionally perilous to string intonation, that makes for an uneasy mood of suppressed emotions. Not, of course, that Catherine Manson and her three colleagues of the London String Quartet have any problems with the tuning here, though they cannot quite avoid a slight roughness of timbre in this difficult key, which was probably Haydn’s intention in choosing it.

For the rest, gut strings and paucity of vibrato notwithstanding, they play with all the radiant resonance of timbre of their previous release in this on-going Haydn series. Maybe the opening movement of No 2 is a little too beautiful to articulate all its cut and thrust; maybe the outer movements of No 3 are a bit too hasty and throwaway. But there is never a dull moment, and the recording is of answering immediacy and bloom. –Bayan Northcottб BBC Music Magazine