Kodály Quartet - Haydn: String Quartets Op.3 Nos. 3-6 (2002)

When these quartets were recorded, the Kodaly Quartet ("KQ") had been playing together for more than a quarter century. It shows. What is evident on these recordings is the perfect cohesion of these highly talented musicians; they clearly have an intimate knowledge of the score of each quartet and thoroughly enjoy playing together. The KQ's performance is fresh, truly conveys their love for this music, and fully brings to life the range of emotions contained in this musical microcosm - playfulness, elegance, sunny joy, and gentle reverie - with every movement of these quartets having a quality of refinement and graciousness that allows the listener to savor every note.

The allegro movements on these CDs have a wonderful rhythmic vitality.
While listening to them, one can imagine elegantly dressed men and women in the 18th century, with the women in long, flowing silk dresses, moving across the dance floor to the sounds of this wonderful music. Although this chamber music was originally composed for small private gatherings, the fast movements have a lively rhythm that evokes the image of dancing couples.

The slow movements are played with a beautiful tenderness that invites the listener to float upwards with closed eyes into a serene musical heaven, floating in the clouds like an albatross with its wings outspread, being lifted by air currents as it slowly glides through an azure sky on a warm summer day.

These digital recordings have an excellent crystal clear sound quality, capturing the KQ's precision and their sensitivity to every nuance of every note. The sound engineering is truly first-rate, giving a feeling of immediacy and physical presence to the instruments. It is only one step away from having the musicians actually performing in front of you, in your own living room.

I am absolutely delighted with this series of the complete Haydn string quartets by the KQ. As it turns out, every CD in the series has been a delight, including this one with quartets that may very well not have been composed by Haydn at all, but by Romanus Hoffstetter (1742 - 1815).

These early string quartets are more than mere historical footnotes. They are also beautiful music, irrespective of who composed them, Haydn or Hoffstetter. They are delightful and very worthy compositions in their own right. As stated by Allan Badley in the CD booklet notes to the Opus 3 Quartets: "There is much to admire in the Op. 3 Quartets, whoever the composer may have been. They are elegant, neatly composed works with lively outer movements, gentle, graceful slow movements, and the kind of lilting, intoxicating minuets that are an integral part of Austrian music of the period." The fact that these string quartets are less musically complex than Haydn's later masterpieces, such as the Opus 71, "Apponyi" quartets, does not detract from their beauty.

I would gladly have paid twice as much for this CD and still felt it was an excellent value. The CD booklet notes are well-written, with historical information, musical analysis, and information on the Kodaly Quartet. Very highly recommended.