Hagen Quartet

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Since there's been a some buzz lately about the Hagen Quartet I though I might start a thread. Below is a cut and paste from the Purchases Today thread:





Well, I just finished listening to the Op.18/1 from the disc above and the performance is definitely a keeper. Gorgeous all around. It's my first encounter with the Hagen's in early Beethoven and they are as full of energy and life as in the late quartets (energy put to different ends, of course - this is one of the early quartets after all).

So this disc is definitely recommended. 

What's most impressive (in whatever they play) is the Hagen's can summon the grandest of gestures without producing the biggest of sounds. In this, they're quite unlike a group such as the Takacs Quartet (just as a comparison), whose 'big' sound is almost hall-engulfing in scope with a forward momentum that scoops everything along as the music progresses.

The Hagen's are the complete opposite of this. They rely more on the alchemy created by the give-and-take of four "friends" in an intimate - yet lively - setting. Yet the stakes in this setting can get pretty high! It's simply good, honest give-and-take between four musicians who know each other's limits and aren't afraid to put the music on the hot (HOT!!!) seat. The number of ideas and insights brought forth is staggering and the group is totally fearless in their pursuit of musical truth. There's a zest, an inner glow which pours forth as all four musicians work in total unison to find the 'center' of the music. 

And the color is amazing.

It's a mixture of interpretive elements that when taken as a whole makes for some of the boldest music-making I've encountered on disc. Bold, yet never over-cooked or dishonest, thanks to its intimacy. This is the kind of sound that makes a person forget all about a "hall-engulfing" sound (but I do love the Takacs).

As for other Hagen recommendations, I love their Brahms string quintets disc, their Janacek quartets disc, their Schubert string quintet disc, and their Mozart disc with K.499, 589, and 590 (among others).

[Dr. Dread]

I think I have some Shostakovich by them.

[Bulldog]

I think I have some Shostakovich by them.

Same here.  It's their most recent, about three years old - but not listed anymore on ArkivMusic.

[nut-job]

[Herman]

I have a couple of their cd's, Schumann, Beethoven. Their Haydn Op 33 is frequently praised.

They are phenomenal musicians, but personally I don't like their style.

Their Schumann is too wild, so is their Janacek, and their late Beethoven just doesn't cut it considering the competition.

I understand they want to convey to (younger) audiences that string quartets are exciting music, too, but for me it just doesn't work that way. Jumping about in your seat just doesn't add anything, and playing the music as if the composer is on the brink of madness... I don't know.

[val]

For those interested, today, at 00.10, the German channel BAYERN (BR) shows the Hagen Quartet playing Haydn's Quartet opus 76/2.

[snyprrr]

I do wish they would go a little more "obscure" in their choice of rep.

Ligeti/Lutoslawski/Schnittke/Kurtag/Schullhoff was a good start...

Would like to hear Schumann "on the verge of madness!"

[Valentino]

I'm a fan of this band. Herman's assessment is off by a mile, of course.  

I have all their Beethoven quartets now: op. 18/1 and 4, 59/1, and 95-135. Curiously, they've recorded op. 133 twice, the second time as the finale of op. 130. They didn't bother to record the "new" finale for op. 130. No mercy, haha. I miss some smaller LvB pieces they've recorded, so I should get hold of those too.

Their Mozart is plain fantastic. Nobody makes K.421 as gutwrenching desperate. Get that 7cd set nut-job shows.

Schubert: The siblings with A. Schiff and Posch in the "Trout" quintet, Death and the Maiden and D887. The latter is pure emotional violence, surgically done. The quintet in C with H. Schiff. I miss their Rosamunde, but I'll get it.

I recently managed to get hold of their Dvorak/Kodaly disc.

Haydn: I have the disc with op. 1/1, 64/5 and 74/3, and their op. 20 set is on it's way. Have they done op. 33? That's new to me, Herman.

Their Bartok of course.

Their Janacek/Wolf disc.

The two Shostakovich discs with 4, 11 & 14 and 3, 7 & 8. The latter one came in 2006. There should be more DSCH recordings in the pipeline.

I have none of their Schumann, will search.

And their 20-21 disc(s) is (are) missing too! Good God, I'm getting into a buying frenzy here.

I might get a chance to hear them in concert this August in the chapel of the royal palace in Oslo. A fantastic venue.

[Herman]

Haydn: I have the disc with op. 1/1, 64/5 and 74/3, and their op. 20 set is on it's way. Have they done op. 33? That's new to me, Herman.

I mixed up 20 and 33. It's the one with the gorgeous sun on the cover.

Their Mozart is plain fantastic. Nobody makes K.421 as gutwrenching desperate. Get that 7cd set nut-job shows.

That's what I mean. Those Mozart quartets are very deep, complex and moving. But a "gutwrenching desperate" performance is just over the top IMO. A little bit of understatement never harmed anybody.

[Valentino]

For a sweeter approach I have Quatour Mosaïques in hand, and I actually prefer their K. 428 to Hagen. Most times. But K. 421 is a different beast.

For something really wild try Hagen's LvB op. 95, 1st movement. To me the approach makes perfect sense. Addendum: And I think Beethovn would agree. It's not supposed to be soft.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

I understand they want to convey to (younger) audiences that string quartets are exciting music, too, but for me it just doesn't work that way. Jumping about in your seat just doesn't add anything...

Interesting point but I'm not sure what "jumping about" has to do with youth. I can think of two podium giants - Furtwängler and Solti - who were famous for their wild gyrating during concerts and they were no spring chickens. And in fact, neither am I. I'm 44 so whether anyone jumps about or not during a concert matters not a whit to me.

Sounds to me like it could be genuine enthusiasm. No harm in that.

...and playing the music as if the composer is on the brink of madness... I don't know.

Well, "on the brink of madness" is painting the Hagen's in an unfair light. It's more like a "controlled urgency" that may come across to the uninitiated as head-strong but on further review is really a very exciting pluming of the music.

Just what the doctor ordered.

[DavidRoss]

Interesting point but I'm not sure what "jumping about" has to do with youth. I can think of two podium giants - Furtwängler and Solti - who were famous for their wild gyrating during concerts and they were no spring chickens. And in fact, neither am I. I'm 44 so whether anyone jumps about or not during a concert matters not a whit to me.

Sounds to me like it could be genuine enthusiasm. No harm in that.

Yep.  I well remember getting a huge kick out of seeing William Preucil--no spring chicken--almost jumping out his chair with full bodied enthusiasm while playing Mozart's Linz symphony a few years back.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Yep.  I well remember getting a huge kick out of seeing William Preucil--no spring chicken--almost jumping out his chair with full bodied enthusiasm while playing Mozart's Linz symphony a few years back.

Thanks for that, David. The visual is entertaining.