Haydn's Haus

[Sergeant Rock]

I think you may find that the Sarge is, as well.

In op.54, yes indeed. I have Julliard, Amadeus and Auryn too. I think snyprrr would like Julliard (just a guess) but I don't know if that's available on CD (I have an LP).

Sarge

[Mandryka]

I like the way the Tatrai play op 54/2

http://www.youtube.com/v/TbHMXBnyi58

I'm also keen on the Lindsays in that one. The Juilliard set is very characterful -- it's not available commercially but it's on symphonyshare.

The Tatrai has become easily available again thanks to Hungaroton's excellent download site

http://www.hungarotonmusic.com/

[Mandryka]

The Ebène quartet played op 76/3 at the Verbier festival a few days ago. A recording is on the yahoo group concertarchive. Take it if you can.  This a performance like no other, and a real indication of how they've come on since their Haydn CD. i've never heard the variations sound quite so . . . varied. The final movement is psychedelic, hallucinatory. They have this Kocsis like capacity to strobe light Haydn's harmonies.  I really thought that I'd had enough of op 76/3 for a lifeltime, and that everything that could be done with it had been done. That was stupid.  I was wrong. This Ebène performance shows that.

Many of their Verbier performances this year are exceptional - Bartok and Schubert aswell as Haydn.

[Parsifal]

After listening to one complete disc of the Aeolian Quartets set (Op 74 and Op 76) I am hooked on Haydn quartets, big time.  I find it a striking contrast to Mozart.  Haydn is overtly clever, humorous and melodic, whereas Mozart's quartets (and quintets) strike me as having beauty of a more mysterious source.   I find myself listening to a passage of Mozart and thinking "this seems so simply, why does it seem so exquisitely perfect?"

In any case, this music seems important enough the I want an alternative and the Angeles set may be in my future (I have an amazon coupon in the pipeline.)

[SonicMan46]

Well, according to the Hyperion website, recorded in June 2012 & released just a few months ago - the LHQ doing Op. 33 - looking forward to seeing some reviews and comments -

[Itullian]

I notice that when this set is mentioned, it is always with derision.

[asin]B001QBXFTA[/asin]

Of course I had to get it.  (22 discs for $40, why not?)  So far I've only listened to one quartet (Op 76, No 1) but I see nothing to complain of.  Performances are lively, charming and skillful, the recording is rather good (a bit over-bright, but I find the majority of string quartet recordings to bright for my taste).   I'm quite happy so far, and I like it better than the limited samples I've heard of the Angeles quartet.

I love this set.

[kishnevi]

Well, according to the Hyperion website, recorded in June 2012 & released just a few months ago - the LHQ doing Op. 33 - looking forward to seeing some reviews and comments -

I've played it through once. General impression is that it's the same quality as the earlier issues.

[jlaurson]

OK, I'll bite -- which Haydn quartets/artists would you recommend?

From "No Room to Hide - An Introduction to Haydn's String Quartets" (Listen Magazine, Winter 2012) this list, arranged in chronological (more or less) order; decent overview of different performance styles:

2
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.1
Kodály String Quartet
(Naxos 8550398)

3
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.9
The London Haydn Quartet
(Hyperion 67611)

4
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.17
Auryn Quartet
(Tacet 175)

5
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.20
Quatuor Mosaïques
(naïve 8802)

6
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.33
Appónyi Quartet
(Ars Musici 232160)

7
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.50
Tokyo String Quartet
(ArkivCD DG 423509)

8
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.54
Sacconi Quartet
(Sacconi records 102)
(alternatively: Párkányí String Quartet, Praga 250272)

9
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.55
Meta4 Quartet
(Hänssler 98587)

10
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.64
Quatuor Mosaïques
(naïve 8886 & 8875)

11
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.71 / 74
Auryn String Quartet
(Tacet 170 & 169)

12
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.76
Amadeus Quartet
(DG 471762)

13
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.77, 103
Takács Quartet
(Eloquence 4762575)

14 (Mix'n'match)
Joseph Haydn
String Quartets op.64/4, 74/3, 76/5
Minetti Quartet
(Hänssler 98589)

Quatuor Mosaïques is a particular favorite of mine... all their Haydn recordings are worth snapping up when you come across them. http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2004/09/dip-your-ears-no-11.html

[Sergeant Rock]

From "No Room to Hide - An Introduction to Haydn's String Quartets"

My favorites list looks almost exactly like yours  Differences in bold.

String Quartets op.1
Kodály String Quartet

String Quartets op.9
The London Haydn Quartet

String Quartets op.17
Auryn Quartet

String Quartets op.20
Quatuor Mosaïques

String Quartets op.33
Appónyi Quartet

String Quartets op.50
Tokyo String Quartet

String Quartets op.54
Endellion Quartet

String Quartets op.55
Meta4 Quartet

String Quartets op.64
Quatuor Mosaïques

String Quartets op.71 / 74
Auryn String Quartet

String Quartets op.76
Amadeus Quartet

String Quartets op.77
Kodaly Quartet

String Quartets op.42 / 103
The Lindsays

(Mix'n'match)
String Quartets op.64/5, op.77/1, op.76/2 "Fifths"
Jerusalem Quartet

Sarge

[TheGSMoeller]

ArkivMusic is running a weekend special of Hogwood's Haydn Cycle, $99

Click here for details...and if anyone was looking for a late birthday present for me, this would work. 



Also, 11 days since the last post in the Haus? This forum should be ashamed of itself. 

[George]

ArkivMusic is running a weekend special of Hogwood's Haydn Cycle, $99

Click here for details...and if anyone was looking for a late birthday present for me, this would work. 

when was your b-day? Mine was sept 2

[TheGSMoeller]

when was your b-day? Mine was sept 2

Oh, June 4th, veeeeerrrrry late birthday gift. 

But Happy Birthday, George! 

[George]

Oh, June 4th, veeeeerrrrry late birthday gift. 

Sneaky!

But Happy Birthday, George! 

Thanks!

[kishnevi]

Don't rush over to Arkiv.   AmazonUK offers it at 49.52 GBP,  before deducting VAT and adding shipping/handling.  That's about $20 less, by my off the cuff calculation.  They currently list 6 in stock.  There's no indication that they have the problem that appeared on AmazonUS.

I am, btw, at this moment listening to CDs 11 and 12 of that box, for which (to give a comparison) I paid 37.06 GBP including shipping after VAT was deducted.  So AmazonUK's price has actually gone up since June, when I ordered it. 

[DavidW]

The set is awesome btw.  And worth buying.

I'm thinking of buying the Dorati cycle, but it's sad that I missed the time in which it was only $50.

[Daverz]

Some critic said:

the performances themselves stand as the dullest available. Hogwood's approach to this music lacks any vestige of emotional involvement. He's completely mechanical. Slow movements, with their vibrato-less strings and thin tone sound completely soulless, while the quicker ones move with a choppy, routine vigor. - See more at: http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-4908/?search=1#sthash.k5mVKtxY.dpuf

OK, sorry, I couldn't resist leaving a turd in the punchbowl.  Also the review of the set appeared as an "Insider Only" item, I'm guessing with a title like "Haydn from Hell" or something (I'm not going to spend $50 on the site just to read that one.)

[Opus106]

Some critic said:

OK, sorry, I couldn't resist leaving a turd in the punchbowl.  Also the review of the set appeared as an "Insider Only" item, I'm guessing with a title like "Haydn from Hell" or something (I'm not going to spend $50 on the site just to read that one.)

The 'X from hell' is a series, I think. Seriously.

[North Star]

Some critic said:

OK, sorry, I couldn't resist leaving a turd in the punchbowl.  Also the review of the set appeared as an "Insider Only" item, I'm guessing with a title like "Haydn from Hell" or something (I'm not going to spend $50 on the site just to read that one.)

Should have guessed who it would be...

[Sergeant Rock]

The 'X from hell' is a series, I think. Seriously.

CD from Hell. Yes, it's a recurring title (full of fun-to-read reviews that one can scream at or nod in agreement with). There is also Under the Radar, reviewing what Huwitzer considers to be great but obscure recordings. He's pointed out some gems.

The review of Hogwood's big box (with all the recordings he managed to record before the cycle was axed) begins

"Here's one instance where the collapse of the major labels turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It really didn't take 81 symphonies for Hogwood to prove that his Haydn cycle was an anemic bore"

and ends

"Hogwood actually recorded a sensational performance of Haydn's The Creation, revealing that it didn't have to be this way, and there's no questioning Hogwood's purely scholarly devotion. What's missing, though, is plain, simple musicianship and common sense. You don't need to spend a pile of money to hear Hogwood prove that to you, 81 times."

Hurwitz mentions Dorati as an the example of a Haydn conductor with musicianship and common sense.

On the positive side, the big box gets a higher grade than volume 10: 4/9 

In other Insider reviews he rates Pinnock's Mozart box (I0/10) higher than Hogwood's (6/9).

Sarge

[Karl Henning]

The FCB choir will sing "The Heavens Are Telling" (not just the tune, which has generally been co-opted for hymnody, but "Papa's" whole number from The Creation . . . either 6 or 13 October.  And (reminder) the service streams live on the WERS website.