The Six String Quartets, Op. 76, form one of the most renowned of Haydn's sets of quartets, and carry the stamp of their maker: No other set of eighteenth-century string quartets is so diverse, or so unconcerned with the norms of the time.
In the words of Hayd's friend and contemporary Charles Burney they are full of invention, fire, good taste and new effects. On the present disc, the first of two, we hear the first three quartets, including the Fifths quartet (No. 2) so named after the falling perfect fifths with which it begins. The most famous of the set - and possibly of all Haydn quartets is No. 3, however: the Emperor quartet with its second movement: a set of variations on the Kaiserlied which Haydn had recently composed to the greater glory of the Austrian Emperor Franz II.
This is played on period instruments, usually a turn off for me but this performance by the Chiaroscuo Quartet is tuneful with body and is extremely well recorded on this stereo and surround sound Super Audio cd, playable on regular cd players too
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