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Mozart String Quartets

10K views 29 replies 8 participants last post by  Biwa 
#1 ·
I did do a search and found a thread that wasn't exactly what I was looking for so I started a new thread.

I own the Brilliant Classics Complete Mozart and I am very happy with it (of course). I went out on a limb after doing some research and picked up the Complete Symphonies by Hogwood and I must say I prefer the Hogwood symphonies.

Essentially I want to know if there's a HIP performance collection of Mozart's complete string quartets (yes, even those early ones).

Any advice on this subject would be helpful, ie, the late quartets by so-and-so, early by another, or anything like that. Not strictly HIP but I do prefer it over the more standard version.

Help a newbie out:tiphat:
 
#3 ·
Note to the OP: The thing with the HIP recordings is that, even if you like the PI sound, you are subjected to those interpretations.

;)

I recommend an alternative course: locate and listen to the recordings of the quartets dedicated to Haydn, performed by the Bartók Quartet.

:cool:
 
#5 ·
Avoid the Quatuor Festetics - unless you're looking for that "prima vista" chamber music evening atmosphere :p

I'd go for the Hagen Quartett box on DG (all of the string quartets, plus a few divertimenti and various fugue arrangements) and - if you need a HIP set - the Quatuor Mosaiques box of the final 10 string quartets (if you can find it). Though the Hagens play on modern instruments their approach isn't that different from the Mosaiques (perhaps a bit less noble and more spontaneous), which is hardly surprising given their artistic outlook was shaped by the same teachers (Végh & Harnoncourt).
 
#11 ·
Interpretations, string tone, gestalt...

(from 1648: I take it you like your spicy dishes searing hot and the desserts sickly sweet, yes?)

There are gradations. I like 'hot' dishes (notably Mexican) and certainly have a sweet tooth (preferably natural sweeteners), but there are limits, both for food and for music.

I have the feeling sometimes that I'm 'getting' Webern, but I never have that delusion with Boulez.

The string quartet ensembles that I tend to rely on to make anything they choose to record comprehensible to me are the Petersen, and to a lesser extent the Mann-led Julliard. There are other ensembles that I like better for certain things...

:cool:
 
#26 ·
Superficial tactics - like interpretation that ventures beyond serving all the right notes with a healthy helping of fluffy rhythms and juicy legato (more befitting of say, Berg or Debussy)? Their Mozart just doesn't do it for me, even the occasionally unkempt Amadeus brings out the operatic dialectic that pervades his mature output more vividly than the slightly posh Bergs.
 
#24 ·
The Festetics also recorded many (all?) of the Haydn quartets; theirs were the first HIP string quartets I heard. I recall being more than a little dismayed; the Collegium Aureum had not prepared me for that sound.
 
#25 ·
Sometimes I can write off a quartet completely. It's never for being HIP or UNHIP. Usually preferences for interpretation, performance, and sound. I think HIP generally wised up and softened their act after the 80's. Some was voluntary and some was involuntary--strings and technology. But you can still hear the occasional deranged geese call. Mosaiques is often praised for their Haydn and Mozart. I've heard most of it, and only their Haydn Op. 20 is revelation for me. Just thoughts.
 
#28 ·
I was reading this "old" thread and did not see any of my favorites.
These are the Mozart String Quartet recordings I would recommend.
Quartetto Italiano - complete
Chilingarian Quartet - last 8 quartets
Guarneri Quartet - box set with last 6 quartets and 6 string quintets
Smetana Quartet - 4 late quartets
 
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