Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 Nos. 4-6 Chiaroscuro Quartet

• Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise":
• 1Haydn: String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": I. Allegro con spirito08:09
• 2Haydn: String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": II. Adagio04:28
• 3Haydn: String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": III. Menuet03:56
• 4Haydn: String Quartet in B-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 4, Hob. III:78 "Sunrise": IV. Finale04:30
• String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III:79:
• 5Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III:79: I. Allegretto04:22
• 6Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III:79: II. Largo cantabile e mesto05:55
• 7Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III:79: III. Menuet02:22
• 8Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op. 76 No. 5, Hob. III:79: IV. Finale03:32
• String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III:80:
• 9Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III:80: I. Allegretto05:56
• 10Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III:80: II. Fantasia05:31
• 11Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III:80: III. Menuet03:16
• 12Haydn: String Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op. 76 No. 6, Hob. III:80: IV. Finale06:03
• Total Runtime58:00

Info for Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 Nos. 4-6

The String Quartets, Op. 76 are among the most renowned of Joseph 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 Haydn’s friend and contemporary Charles Burney ‘they are full of invention, fire, good taste and new effects’ – a striking description considering that Haydn had reached the respectable age of 64 when he composed the set. On a previous disc, the Chiaroscuro Quartet has recorded the first half of Op. 76, including No. 3, the celebrated ‘Emperor’ quartet. The release has won great acclaim, with the critic in Gramophone writing: ‘The Chiaroscuros' account of the remaining three Op 76 quartets can't come soon enough.’ Well, here it is – a disc which like its predecessor spans a wealth of moods and atmospheres: from the magical sunrise of the opening of 76/4 to the manic minuet and boisterous finale of 76/6, a movement without a tune worth the name but utterly engrossing even so.

The Chiaroscuro Quartet was formed in 2005 by the violinists Alina Ibragimova (Russia) and Pablo Hernán Benedí (Spain), the Swedish violist Emilie Hörnlund and cellist Claire Thirion from France. Performing music of the Classical period on gut strings this highly international ensemble has a unique sound – described in The Observer as ‘a shock to the ears of the best kind’.

Chiaroscuro Quartet

Chiaroscuro Quartet
Formed in 2005, the Chiaroscuro Quartet performs music of the Classical period with historical instruments and approach.

Recently the quartet played their first concert at the Edinburgh International Festival followed by their debut in Germany as part of the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Highlights in the past took the young ensemble to London's Wigmore Hall, York Early Music Centre, The Sage Gateshead (recorded for BBC Radio 3), Auditorium du Louvre Paris, Théâtre du Jeu-de-Paume in Aix-en-Provence, Grand Théâtre de Dijon, Gulbenkian Foundation Lisbon and a residency in Aldeburgh.

Following the critically acclaimed release of their first album in September 2011, the Chiaroscuro Quartet released its second recording for the French label Aparté in April 2013. The CD including Beethoven's Quartetto serioso, Mozart's Quartet K. 428 and Adagio and Fugue K. 546 received four out of four possible f in the French magazine Télérama and was given the best note for its interpretation in Germany's major magazine for chamber music Ensemble.

In the coming months the quartet will return to the BBC Radio 3 for a lunchtime concert in London and appear on stage of the Nikolaisaal Potsdam and Kunstverein Wiesloch. Concerts in the Netherlands (Concertgebouw Amsterdam), Belgium (Ghent, Handelsbeurs Concertzaal), France (Clermont-Ferrand and Pau) and Spain (Madrid and Bilbao) are scheduled for early 2014.

Since 2009 the Quartet has held a residency at Port-Royal-des-Champs dedicated to Mozart's quartets.

Booklet for Haydn: String Quartets, Op. 76 Nos. 4-6