Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Amadeus Quartet :: Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 51, 54, 55, 64, 71, 74

Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 51, 54, 55, 64, 71, 74
Franz Joseph Haydn, Amadeus Quartet
Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 51, 54, 55, 64, 71, 74
Genre: Classical
 

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Franz Joseph Haydn, Amadeus Quartet
Title: Haydn: String Quartets, Opp. 51, 54, 55, 64, 71, 74
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date: 11/9/2004
Album Type: Box set, Collector's Edition
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830)
Number of Discs: 7
SwapaCD Credits: 7
UPC: 028947751458
 

CD Reviews

Be careful with these reviews
T. Duffy | 10/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A hate to review other reviewers only, since I have to rate the CDs, but I can't let this pass (so I give five stars like the other reviewers). Both other reviewers give the impression that you can have a very good and representative collection of Haydn's string quartets starting from Op. 51. It's just not true. And one reviewer gives the impression that Haydn's early quartets (anything before Op. 51?) don't merit any attention. How anyone could imagine they have a representative collection of Haydn's quartets without the Op. 20 and Op. 33 sets is beyond me. The six Op. 20 quartets are works of early maturity, but they are mature works and they happen to be among my favorite, even if they don't have the depth and vision of the Op. 76 quartets. They have a wonderful quality which never reappears in quite the same way in any of his later works. And the Op. 33 quartets represent Haydn at one of his most creative and experimental moments. I love Haydn's quartets and have absolutely nothing against Op. 51 or any of the later sets. But if you like Haydn's quartets and aren't familiar with those before Op. 51, please don't be misled by these reviews and end up missing some really wonderful music."
Rock Me Amadeus
Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 08/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)

"A few years ago my father got me the Angeles Quartet box set of the complete Haydn String Quartets. It took me a while to listen to and absorb all 21 discs, but after a time I decided to give it back to dad for a spin. Not a huge string quartet collector, he had a few Naxos discs of the various Haydn opuses, but nothing comprehensive. Well he quickly fell in love with the Angeles performances, and since the box took up so little space on his over-crowded CD shelves, he decided that the loan of this set might be extended indefinitely. He offered me his Naxos titles, but I declined, and thought about getting the Aeolian box on Decca/London instead. I then came across this 7CD set in DG's "Collectors Edition" series by the acclaimed Amadeus String Quartet. I purchased it along with their "Trio" title collecting opp. 76, 77 & 103, and realized ten discs of Haydn SQs as a secondary set was plenty. I had been previously impressed by Amadeus on other recordings (see my reviews of their Schubert and Brahms/Dvorak discs), and they are in top flight form on the Haydn works as well. The Angeles set offers extraordinary music for a better overall value, but if you want a lot, but not necessarily all, of the Haydn String Quartets, you can't go wrong with Amadeus."
Essential Haydn quartets
jsa | San Diego, CA United States | 07/11/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a tendency to be a completist, however, experience tells me that typically not all of a composer's works within a certain genre are equally appealing. I don't, for example, feel compelled to have all the symphonies of Mozart, but I do have all the piano sonatas & concertos & listen to all of them, although some are more inspired than others. Even though Haydn was a genius, he was also a very prolific composer, & not everything he wrote was equally memorable. If you acquire this Haydn set which includes 18 quartets plus op. 51, along with a 3 disc set of quartets that include op 76, 77 & 103, also performed by the Amadeus Quartet on DGG, you'll find that between both sets you'll have an assortment of highly inspired quartets that are among the best that Haydn wrote. There is a ton of great chamber music here.



I'm not a Haydn expert, so I can't vouch for the performances except to say that the Amadeus Quartet (active 1947-87) was a highly regarded ensemble that recorded extensively during that time (complete Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms quartets etc). These discs were recorded between 1971-1978 & the sound is consistently fine.



This 7 cd package is one of DGG's collector editions that is usually available through an Amazon reseller for considerably less than the list price, which makes it an outstanding bargain.



Highly recommended!"