The London String Quartet’s Haydn recordings for Hyperion have
been reviewed here
for Op.9, and here
for Op.17, and their Op.20 is now here on yet another very generously
timed ‘two CDs for the price of one’ release. My own references
include that from the Naxos label with the Kodály Quartet (see
review
and again here),
which is very good, but could be a tad more sprightly in the
swifter movements, and quite a nice set from the Tátrai Quartet
on the Hungaroton label. More lively than both of these but
now only available via download is the Hagen Quartet on Deutsche
Grammophon. Of this little handful this would be my pick for
a desert island, were I to be able to get my hands on a copy.
In many ways comparisons with these recordings are tricky to
justify, as the London String Quartet is very much in search
of that ‘authentic’ sound, using gut strings and reduced vibrato.
Of the modern recordings I have lying around, that with the
Pellegrini-Quartett on the CPO label always struck me as having
a softer, more gut-string kind of sound, but even this is easily
trumped by the timbre of the London String Quartet. For some
this may be an acquired taste, and obtaining some of the flavour
of the recording in advance from the Hyperion website might
be advisable, though there is much more to this set than a brief
first impression might allow.
A scholarly approach is one of the aspects of this recording,
and the use of the 1801 Artaria Edition of these quartets is
ably justified in the booklet. “Haydn had personally overseen
the new edition, making corrections and adding more dynamic
and articulation markings ‘such are necessary for its proper
execution.’” The argument against the ‘authenticity’ of this
edition due to Haydn’s lack of access to his own manuscripts
for its preparation is outweighed by the reality of circumstance.
This would have represented an opportunity to update the printed
edition of pieces which Haydn had been playing and heard performed
for 20 years previously. Even if the additions and alterations
go beyond his original intentions, they doubtlessly represent
a wealth of performance experience, and the reality of the practise
of the time.
The London String Quartet is a crack ensemble, with historic
performance specialist Catherine Manson as its leader. Once
again, taste will dictate whether you warm to this approach,
but if you are looking for a view of these marvellous quartets
which represents up to date thinking on how they might have
sounded in Haydn’s day then you need look no further. This is
by no means a dry or ‘hair shirt’ listening experience. With
superb intonation, observance of dynamic shading and the shaping
of phrases, this quartet creates an authoritative aura, presenting
Haydn at the peak of his powers as he developed the string quartet
into something with real substance and true status as a genre
which went beyond light salon entertainment. If you are looking
for putative ‘Sturm und Drang’ intensity then this is something
you will find in relatively measured doses in these performances.
Audiences in Haydn’s day would have had enough to deal with
in these new pieces without having to hide behind their frilly
sleeves and ‘kerchiefs in order to avoid exhibitions of raw
emotion. The London String Quartet’s performances have a more
‘open’ feel than many, though while the initial sense of lower
degrees of intensity might form part of your impressions of
these recordings there is still plenty of excitement generated
in movements such as the final Presto of the first quartet.
The dramatic unison of the opening of the second movement Capriccio:
Adagio of the second quartet sounds less orchestral without
vibrato, and there is more shapely elegance than urgency in
the repeated note accompaniment to the melodic sequence which
follows. Romantic digging into the strings is held in check,
though not entirely absent here and elsewhere, though is more
a side-effect of dynamic extremes than an expression of heart-on-sleeve
passion. There is no shortage of passion in the music itself,
and with all of the surprises and expressive discoveries Haydn
presents us and the players there is more than enough freshness
and directness of feeling to be going on with, without extra
layers of wringing from the performers.
The London String Quartet’s soft baseline dynamic and lightness
of touch makes a playful delight of the Fuga which concludes
the second quartet in the set, and this is a strong feature
of performances which can spring Haydn’s delightful nuances
and little shockers all the better for it. The darting phrases,
fanfares and interrupted cadences which are a feature of the
opening Allegro con spirito of the third quartet is a
good case in point, the labyrinthine musical narrative at once
logical, and one in which you can lose yourself entirely. The
scrunchy expressive dissonances are also pointed superbly, as
can be heard in the Menuetto second movement of the same
quartet.
Where the first violin was very much the leader in much of Haydn’s
earlier quartets, the equality of the parts in the Op.20 set
is something to which the London String Quartet is very much
alive. With a beautifully integrated sound as a whole, the sense
of each line and that idea of ‘a conversation between four intelligent
people’ is very effective here, though more in the sense of
a family of four with very similar voices rather than four easily
identifiable characters. This said, the contrasts between each
quartet are very well stated here. Just have a listen to the
way the witty and eccentric Allegretto alla zingarese and
the Presto scherzando of the fourth quartet are played
with daring emphasis, and set these movements against the loaded
emotional minor tonalities and sighing gestures of the fifth
quartet and you’ll hear what I mean. The sheer simplicity of
the Adagio of the 5th quartet is heart-stopping.
This kind of genuine and well defined character is more seldom
found with these pieces than you might think.
The op. 20 quartets are played here in their published order
rather than in their chronological sequence of composition,
though Richard Wigmore in his excellent booklet notes discusses
each quartet seemingly in random order. I have come to these
recordings without previous experience of this quartet’s Hyperion
Haydn releases, but with an awareness of Catherine Manson’s
superb playing in different contexts.
This set of Haydn’s Op. 20 ‘Sun’ Quartets may be one which you
need to let ‘grow’ on you, but once you’ve entered, accepted
and started to appreciate the worlds the London String Quartets
create in this repertoire you will I hope come to appreciate
these performances as much as I have. Hyperion’s excellent sound
quality is the topping on a very refined and highly enjoyable
listening experience, and given the generous pricing for this
two disc set I easily find myself very much in the warmly supportive
camp when it comes to giving a recommendation.
Dominy Clements
The London Haydn Quartet (Catherine Manson (violin); Michael Gurevich (violin); James Boyd (viola); Richard Lester (cello))
