Joseph Haydn: Op. 33/1-3

by Chiaroscuro Quartet

Overview

The Chiaroscuro Quartet's recordings of Classical-period and early Romantic music tend to be fresh in conception, brilliantly virtuosic where called for and, true to the group's name, marked by sharp dramatic contrasts. The group's performances are historically oriented, with gut strings, period bows, and a slashing sound with little vibrato. The quartet is never boring, but arguably material and forces have never matched better in the group's output than here, in this recording of the first three of Haydn's Op. 33 string quartets. A Haydn performance is nothing without humor, but perhaps he has never sounded as thoroughly anarchic as he does here. Sample the finale of the String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33, No. 2, the movement that gave the piece its familiar nickname, "The Joke." There is a false ending, composed by Haydn, according to legend, to win a bet that he could fool listeners who liked to start talking before the music was over. Here, in the hands of the Chiaroscuro, the joke is perhaps over the top but is absorbing indeed as the players recede almost to imperceptibility before starting in again. First violinist Alina Ibragimova, here and elsewhere in the set, is explosive and brilliant. BIS engineers get the right focus at Menuhin Hall. This is a recording that is sure to please fans of the Chiaroscuro Quartet and a good introduction to the group's distinctive style for listeners who don't yet know the group. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/05/2023
Label:	Bis
UPC:	7318599925882
Rank:	10788

Tracks

1. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 1 in B minor, Hob. III:37~Allegro moderato
2. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 1 in B minor, Hob. III:37~Scherzo. Allegro di molto
3. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 1 in B minor, Hob. III:37~Andante
4. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 1 in B minor, Hob. III:37~Finale. Presto
5. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat major (The Joke), Hob. III:38~Allegro moderato
6. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat major (The Joke), Hob. III:38~Scherzo. Allegro
7. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat major (The Joke), Hob. III:38~Largo e sostenuto
8. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2 in E flat major (The Joke), Hob. III:38~Finale. Presto
9. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 3 in C major (The Bird), Hob. III: 39~Allegro moderato
10. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 3 in C major (The Bird), Hob. III: 39~Scherzo. Allegretto
11. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 3 in C major (The Bird), Hob. III: 39~Adagio ma non troppo
12. String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 3 in C major (The Bird), Hob. III: 39~Finale. Rondo. Presto

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Chiaroscuro Quartet   Primary Artist,String Quartet

Technical Credits

Agnese Blaubarde   Cover Photo
Oscar Torres   Engineer,Post Production Mix,Post Production Editor
Andrew Keener   Producer,Recording Producer
Robert Suff   Executive Producer
Jean-Pascal Vachon   Liner Note Translation
Andrea Amati   Instrument Design
Carlo Tononi   Instrument Design
Andrew Barnett   Typesetting
Horst A. Scholz   Liner Note Translation
Anselmo Bellosio   Instrument Design
Hendrick Willems   Instrument Design
Franz Joseph Haydn   Composer
Richard Wigmore   Liner Notes