Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 64, Nos. 4-6

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Music reviews of Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 64, Nos. 4-6

Music Review: Exploring the Haydn Quartets -- Opus 64 Nos.4-6
Rating: 5 Stars

This CD by the Kodaly quartet will help show why Haydn's quartets deserve their high regard. The disc consists of the 4th,5th and 6th quartet of Haydn's opus 64, composed in 1790 just before Haydn's first trip to London. (Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and other composers of the classical era frequently published their quartets in sets of three or six.) The CD is part of a complete recording of the 88-some Haydn quartets and is available at a budget price. It is an ideal introduction to the world of the string quartet for the new listener or for the listener wishing to explore Haydn.

In listening to the quartets on this CD and its companion volume (featuring quartets 1 - 3 of opus 64) the listener will notice several repeated patterns. These include the emphasis on the first violin, the repeated placement of passages in the high register, the slow movements consisting of three sections, with a minor key section sandwiched between two outward major key sections, and a quick, perpetuum mobile finale. These outward formalities are the bottles into which Haydn pours an astonishing variety of music.

The CD opens with the quartet in G major, opus 64, No. 4. The opening allegro con brio opens with a jaunty opening theme followed by a distinct more subdued secondary theme. There is a great deal of twittering in the violin's high register near the close of the exposition and recaptitulation before the movement comes to a quiet close. The second movement is a minuet which straddles the line between decor and delicacy and some virtual foot-stomping. The trio features a delightful violin solo with a skipping theme over a plucked accompanyment. The third movement, adagio cantabile e sostenuto is a reverie with a flowing melody in the first violin which is basically repeated in the minor with a change in accompanyment. The final presto opens with a lively dancing theme for all four instruments and includes contrapuntal passages in the middle section. The quartet ends quietly after some high notes in the violin.

The second quartet on this CD (no. 5) is in D major and is known as the "Lark" quartet. The opening movement, allegro moderato, begins with a few bars of a bouncy figure in the lower strings followed by the "lark" theme, a lovely, insouciant, mostly high-pitched melody in the first violin over the opening figure. This melody pervades the movement, including the development section. The second movement, adagio-cantabile features a serene, glowing melody with the first violin again predominant. The first violin alternates nicely with the lower strings and there is a fine chordal passage in the middle and lower strings in mid-movement. The end of the movement features the first violin over the chords in the low strings before the quiet close.
The minuet features the second violin and the viola with the trio featuring lots of movement among the instruments in a minor key. The finale, presto, is a perpetuum mobile, light, short, and quick. The different voices join in seriatim at the end as the work comes to a snappy, unison close.

The final work on this CD (no. 6) is the quartet in E-flat major.
This is probably the most tightly-written quartet of the six, with a great deal of variety in tempo, mood, and instrumentation. The part-writing is fine and close. The opening allegro, begins quietly and in unison at a moderate tempo. There are frequent contrasts between the upper and lower strings, shifts in tempo and key and intricate interplay between the four voices. The second movement is marked andante with quiet duet passages for the violin and viola in the opening and concluding sections. The opening theme flows seamlessly into a middle section which offers a striking passage for the solo violin in a pleading, highly dramatic voice. There is a pause and then a return to the tranquillity of the opening theme. The third movement, menuetto, similarly is notable for its trio. It is of the character of a Schubert landler and consists of a lilting dancelike solo in the second violin with the first violin playing an obligato passage in accompanyment in the instrument's highest register. The finale is a presto which juxtaposes again the high registers of the quartet against the low registers. There is another obligato passage for the violin in its upper register. The movement slows down at the end for a few quizzical bars before a rapid close.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable CD which celebrates the sheer joy of making music.

Description of Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 64, Nos. 4-6

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