Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 22 Leipziger Streichquartett

• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76 No. 1, Hob. III: 75:
• 1 Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76 No. 1, Hob. III: 75: I. Allegro con spirito 09:07
• 2 Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76 No. 1, Hob. III: 75: II. Adagio sostenuto 05:39
• 3 Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76 No. 1, Hob. III: 75: III. Menuetto. Presto 02:31
• 4 Haydn: String Quartet in G Major, Op. 76 No. 1, Hob. III: 75: IV. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo 06:51
• String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III: 79:
• 5 Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III: 79: I. Allegretto 05:01
• 6 Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III: 79: II. Largo. Cantabile e mesto 05:39
• 7 Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III: 79: III. Menuetto. Allegro ma non troppo 03:05
• 8 Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III: 79: IV. Finale. Presto 03:48
• String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III: 80:
• 9 Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III: 80: I. Allegretto - Allegro 06:44
• 10 Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III: 80: II. Fantasia. Adagio 05:59
• 11 Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III: 80: III. Menuetto. Presto 03:00
• 12 Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III: 80: IV. Finale. Allegro spiritoso 04:59
• Total Runtime 01:02:23

Info for Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 22

This marks a milestone in the history of chamber music: with Volume 22, the Leipzig String Quartet brings the already widely acclaimed complete recording of all Joseph Haydn’s quartets to a spectacular close. It is both a conclusion and a climax, for in the three works from Op. 76, composed for Count Erdödy, the late Haydn once again pulls out all the stops.

With more than three decades of chamber music experience behind them, the interpretation is once again in the very best of hands with these four Leipzig musicians: Even the opening, with its three crisp chords, immediately captivates the audience. Was Haydn perhaps seeking to rouse the notoriously restless audience at London’s Hanover Square Rooms?

You certainly won’t fall asleep here, for Haydn provides the finest entertainment, be it with breakneck final movements, highly inventive variations or cantilenas of almost otherworldly beauty. Haydn’s masterful compositional artistry delights even the most discerning connoisseurs – including surprising forays into exotic keys.

Haydn’s late quartets sound surprisingly modern in this Leipzig interpretation; the emancipation of the middle and lower voices comes into its own here. The typically natural MDG sound, with its perfect balance of transparency and opulence, also guarantees an overwhelming auditory delight for mind and soul.

“.​.​.​ The Leipzig String Quartet, which has been in existence for 35 years, has struck the right note from the very beginning to showcase Haydn’s high art in its true light. ​ Stefan Arzberger, as first violinist, leads without seeking to take centre stage; Tilman Büning, as second violinist, knows exactly how to distinguish between accompanying and thematically significant passages; Ivo Bauer is a sensitive mediator between the high and low registers; and Peter Bruns, as cellist, varies virtuosically between the foundation and striking thematic elements in the lower register, as Haydn developed them particularly in his late works. ​ The result is a seamless interpretation, with brisk tempos in the outer movements and minuets – which are, in fact, already scherzos – and expressive movement in the slow movements.​“ (Klassik Heute)

Leipzig String Quartet

The Leipzig Quartet
has become one of the most sought-after and versatile ensembles of this genre in the 35 years of its existence. Founded in 1988, three of its members were active in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra until they left the orchestra in 1993 upon completing intensive studies with Gerhard Bosse and Karl Suske in Leipzig, the Amadeus Quartet in London and Cologne, Hatto Beyerle in Hanover and Walter Levin in Lübeck. From then on, they devoted themselves exclusively to the art of chamber music.

Since then, the ensemble has received numerous international honors and awards. In 1991, they won the prestigious international ARD competition in Munich and the Brüder Busch Prize. The following year the ensemble was awarded the Siemens Music Prize, and also received a scholarship from the Amadeus Scholarship Fund and the Stiftung Kulturfonds.

For more than 25 years, the ensemble arranged its own concert series “Pro Quatuor” in Leipzig. In addition, they are regularly invited to perform at renowned festivals in over 40 European countries, as well as in the United States and South America, Australia, Japan, Israel, Africa and Asia. The ensemble keeps an active concert schedule.

Longstanding collaborations with musical partners have enriched the ensemble’s repertoire over many years. These collaborations include clarinetist Karl Leister, cellist Michael Sanderling, violists Barbara Buntrock and Hartmut Rohde, pianists Alfred Brendel, Menahem Pressler, Andreas Staier and Christian Zacharias, sopranos Juliane Banse and Christiane Oelze, baritone Olaf Bär as well as the “King of Klezmer”, Giora Feidman.

Since 1992, the ensemble records its extensive repertoire on CD exclusively for the company Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm. These include complete recordings of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the entire Second Viennese School.

To date, the ensemble has released around 100 recordings, which are highly acclaimed by international critics and have received numerous awards, such as the Diapason d‘Or, the Premios CD-Compact, the Indie Award and five ECHO-Klassik Prizes.

Currently, the ensemble is devoting itself to the string quartet oeuvre of Joachim Raff as well as to the complete recording of Haydn‘s string quartets, which is due to be completed in 2024.

Another important focus has always been the work with contemporary composers – this has resulted in numerous world premieres of works by Beat Furrer, Jörg Widmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Steffen Schleiermacher, Christian Ofenbauer, Siegfried Thiele, Bernd Franke, Cristóbal Halffter and many others. Last year, the ensemble performed Thomas Agerfeldt Olsen‘s “Plappergeister” at the WDR Funkhauskonzert in Cologne.

Invited by Claudio Abbado, the LSQ served as a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for ten years and held a fellowship at Tokyo University of the Art (Geidai) for many years.

Booklet for Haydn: String Quartets, Vol. 22