I. Allegro
II. Andante
III. Menuetto
IV. Allegro


So we've finally made it out of the Milanese Quartets and we're onto Mozart's 'Viennese' Quartets which were unbelievably written in Rotherham! I'm kidding...they we're written in Vienna (of course). For some unknown reason they were never published in the composer's lifetime but were posthumously published by Johann André as Mozart's Op. 94, in 1801. Even though written only a year later than the Milanese Quartets, the 'Viennese' Quartets take us a step closer to the mature Mozart, with each piece in four movements, following on from Haydn's Op.9 and 17 sets which proved highly influential to the young composer. All six of this set were composed in 1773 with the first of this set, no. 8, in F Major.
The first thing that you notice, in the opening Allegro movement is greater depth and there's greater development and an exposition repeat. Look, it's hardly complex or expansive development but in this 1st movement there's greater coverage, already.
Tbh , the inner movements of this work do little for me. The 2nd movement brings us to an Andante in F minor. With mutes and much greater , contrapuntal movement there's now added drama and a triple-meter canon on the familiar theme (as used in the finale of Haydn's Op.20/5). You can certainly start to feel the difference between this and those earlier works in this longest movement. Shame it's not especially gripping.
After that we're back to familiar territory with a rather bland little Menuetto. The miniscule B-flat major trio echoes parts of the andante. There's little else to report.
The finale gets us back to better material and is even shorter and fugal in form, with the instruments entering, playing the subject, one at a time and again there's more than a whiff of Haydn's op.20. It’s really fun stuff and I'd have loved something a bit longer here!
It would be well over a decade after this set of quartets until Mozart would be back with his celebrated 'Haydn' Quartets and the musical landscape would change again.
There's quite a few recordings and we're lucky as there's no turkeys. Unfortunately I didn't get to heart the Griller Quartet's 1952 recording but did get to assess the rest so here goes.....I'll keep comments down to a minimum apart from the best as it's nowhere near a favourite Mozart quartet....

Recommended

Nostitz
Dimov (1973)
Barylli (1955)
Eder
Festetics
Sonare
Esterhazy
Pascal

Impressive

Vienna SQ - hogh quality ensemble playing. Fluid.
Brandis - understated and gentler than expected but gorgeously lyrical, attractive tone
Barchet - strong, committed, characterful
Cuarteto Casals - some lovely phrasing
Hagen - would be higher but fugue is a bit rushed
Heutling - best of their early quartets up to now. Warm and hearty
American - not as dynamic as later recordings but very attractive tonally.
Amadeus - heavier on the older Viennese styling but so endearing and quick-moving

Special

Armida - different tonally than any others. Great sound and a very clear and clutter-free traversal. Highly impressive in ensemble, especially the outer movements.
Italiano - classic account from a classic set. Oozes class and the sophistication of their playing is evident throughout. Analogue sound still sounds great.
Suske - the Suske make an even bigger, warmer sound than the Italiano and caress this performance, even making that slow movement sing.

Top Choice

Leipziger - fast becoming a staple on these early quartets the Leipziger deliver delicious tones, in wonderful sound and make the inner movements actually worth hearing but the playing during those outer movements is magical.