COMPOSERS: Haydn
LABELS: DG
WORKS: String Quartets, Opp. 54 & 55
PERFORMER: Amadeus Quartet
CATALOGUE NO: 437 134-2 ADD (1973/74)
No critical edition of these popular works existed in the early Seventies; hence the Amadeus Quartet cannot be held responsible for the many textual deficiencies of this otherwise excellent recording. Of course, styles of playing 18th-century music have changed radically in the past two decades, and a performance on period instruments would sound thinner, less smooth and more austere. Having said this, it would be churlish to deny that the Amadeus play with insight and considerable charm.
Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 54 & 55
No critical edition of these popular works existed in the early Seventies; hence the Amadeus Quartet cannot be held responsible for the many textual deficiencies of this otherwise excellent recording. Of course, styles of playing 18th-century music have changed radically in the past two decades, and a performance on period instruments would sound thinner, less smooth and more austere. Having said this, it would be churlish to deny that the Amadeus play with insight and considerable charm.
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4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:37 pm