Haydn, J.: Sun Quartets, Op. 20

Album review

By Op. 20, Haydn was securing his historic legacy as the Father of the String Quartet. This notoriety of his advancement of the genre was appreciated and recognized quite clearly in his own time, though to our modern ears, very little of the music of Op. 20 sounds terribly progressive or experimental. Haydn, however, used Op. 20 as a sort of testing ground for all sorts of techniques ranging from sophisticated rhythmic figurations, textures, interdependence, and independence of the four instruments and tonality itself. Like many works with familiar subtitles, the "Sun Quartets" title came not from Haydn but from a publisher. The name has endured the test of time, and the liner notes for this particular album go into a great deal of discourse as to its appropriateness. On this two-disc SACD recording, the Pellegrini-Quartett offers a performance of these important works that gives listeners almost everything they need. The ensemble has a clear academic understanding of the advancements with which Haydn was experimenting and even highlights these techniques to listeners. Intonation is generally solid, although there are certainly some times when this gets away from the group. The overall sound, however, is not necessarily completely Haydn-esque. As the music becomes busier and more intricate, the tone becomes more labored and cautious, robbing listeners of what could have been a much more spontaneous and open performance.
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