Guarneri Quartet performs two of Mozart's "Haydn String Quartets" with clarity, precision.....
Apr 25 '05
The Bottom Line The string quarter was a popular type of composition in the Classical era, and this recording of two Mozart pieces by the Guarneri Quartet shows why. Excellent for relaxation.
If Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's relatively short life hadn't been so well-documented even in his own lifetime and popularized by the stage play and film Amadeus, it would be hard to believe that the two string quartets presented in this Philips Classics CD were composed by a man still in his early 20s. Yet this amazing wunderkind, who started composing short pieces at the age of five and could, on occasion, write several symphonies in less than a week's time, conceived no less than 16 quartets between 1770 and 1773, followed by another batch of 10 in his Vienna years. Six of these latter works he would dedicate to his friend Joseph Haydn, who Mozart regarded as a musical mentor and father figure; one of these six, the String Quartet No. 16 in E flat KV 428, clearly echoing two of Haydn's string quartets, so impressed the older composer, then the court composer at the Esterhazy court at Eisenhadt, Austria, that Haydn reexamined the structure of his own quartets and later went on to compose several more.
Of all the musical genres introduced in the Classical period, the most popular was the string quartet, with its intimate and clear sound provided by a group that consists of two violins, a viola, and a cello. Normally (as in the two selections heard in this recording) a string quartet of the Classical era consists of four movements, similar in structure and complexity to the symphony and bearing the same gravitas as the larger work. Orchestration is a major challenge, since the musical palette of colors is limited by the size of the ensemble, forcing a composer like Haydn or Mozart to figure out ways to keep listeners' attention and add diversity and complexity to the musical themes of the composition.
Although I enjoyed the String Quartet No. 16 in E flat KV 428, especially the adagio non troppo (Track 1) and the menuetto (Track 3), I really found the 17th String Quartet more accesible for a listener, particularly the first movement, the allegro vivace assai, with its insinuation of a huntsman's hunting horn call that earned the work its nickname "The Hunt." It's a lively and light movement, calling to mind sun-dappled forests and meadows around Vienna, where Mozart was living and working at the time.
This 1992 Philips Classics album features the renowned Guarneri Quartet, which consists of violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, viola player Michael Tree, and cellist David Soyer. With precision and clarity, the foursome performs Mozart's complex and very challenging pieces flawlessly, giving the listener two perfect examples of the rational and very structured Classical piece. The calm and soothing tones make this CD the perfect musical tool for relaxation, since its melodies are gentle and lack the overly dramatic orchestrations of works of the later Romantic era.
Mozart String Quartets KV 428 & KV 458: Track List
String Quartet No. 16 in E flat KV 428
1. Adagio non troppo
2. Andante con moto
3. Menuetto (Allegro)
4. Allegro vivace
String Quartet No. 17 in B flat KV 458 "The Hunt"
1. Allegro vivace assai
2. Menuetto (Moderato)
3. Adagio
4. Allegro assai
Guarneri Quartet
Arnold Steinhardt, violin
John Dalley, violin
Michael Tree, viola
David Soyer, cello
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Member: Alex Diaz-Granados
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