This 2023 release wraps up the
London Haydn Quartet
's cycle of
Haydn
string quartets, played with historically accurate gut strings and bows and based on the original printed editions of the music (although the latter doesn't seem to make much difference). Listeners seem to have taken to this approach; the group's cycle has been successful, and this volume landed on classical best-seller lists. The gut strings tamp down the late
Op. 77 quartets
a bit compared with the many performances that emphasize the proto-Beethovenian intensity of movements, like the finale of the
String Quartet in G major, Op. 77, No. 1
. The
's rhythmic treatments are restrained as well. The earthquake in the finale of the difficult
Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross, Op. 51
, is a pretty mild temblor, and the cross-rhythms of the wildly experimental Scherzo of the
String Quartet in F major, Op. 77, No. 2
, are played straightforwardly. Listeners who have heard other volumes in the series will be familiar with the rather viol-like tinge in the instruments here, and it is fine; it probably sounds like what
would have heard. What he would not have heard were the extraneous noises picked up by the ultra-close-up microphones. This may not be the ideal initial pick for listeners wanting to sample this set, but it will make a satisfying finale for those who have followed the group's cycle. ~ James Manheim