During the 18th century, the string quartet gained the position of the most valued and most challenging chamber music genre, and gradually became a vehicle for conveying the composer's personal feelings. Joseph Haydn played a key role in forging the quartet's classical form. He created almost 70 string quartets, which, along with the symphonies, constitute the largest, as well as the most significant, part of his oeuvre. Haydn accorded them the form that would serve as the model for Mozart, Beethoven and later composers. Just as fascinating as the quantity is his quartets' sheer diversity, with each of them being singular, featuring novel (often humorous) ideas, experiments, as well as constant seeking of new possibilities of expression. The three quartets included on the present album chart the development of Haydn's musical idiom, from Op. 17 (1771), which he wrote at the age of 40, through Op. 33, dubbed "Gli Scherzi" (1781, dedicated to the Grand Duke of Russia Pavel Petrovich, the future Tsar Paul I), to the formally experimental pieces making up Op. 54 (1788). The Bennewitz Quartet have given numerous concerts worldwide, including at the most prestigious venues (Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Berlin, ThÃ©Ã¢tre des Champs-ElysÃ©es in Paris, concert halls in New York, Seoul, etc.) and such renowned festivals as the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival and Rheingau Musik Festival. At many of them, they have performed quartets by Haydn, one of their favourite composers, whose music they endow with a transparent sound, revealing their levity and sense for detail. The Bennewitz Quartet - at home with Haydn

Tracklist:

String Quartet in G major Op. 17, No. 5 (Hob.III:29)~Moderato
String Quartet in G major Op. 17, No. 5 (Hob.III:29)~Menuetto - Trio
String Quartet in G major Op. 17, No. 5 (Hob.III:29)~Adagio
String Quartet in G major Op. 17, No. 5 (Hob.III:29)~Presto
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 33, No. 2 (Hob.III:38)~Allegro moderato
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 33, No. 2 (Hob.III:38)~Scherzando - Trio
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 33, No. 2 (Hob.III:38)~Largo sostenuto
String Quartet in E flat major Op. 33, No. 2 (Hob.III:38)~Finale. Presto
String Quartet in C major Op. 54, No. 2 (Hob.III:57)~Vivace
String Quartet in C major Op. 54, No. 2 (Hob.III:57)~Adagio (attacca)
String Quartet in C major Op. 54, No. 2 (Hob.III:57)~Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
String Quartet in C major Op. 54, No. 2 (Hob.III:57)~Finale. Adagio - Presto - Adagio

UPC: 099925432621
Label: Supraphon
Release Date: 6.9.23
Format: CD

Haydn / Bennewitz Quartet - String Quartets (CD)