Haydn: String Quartets Op. 33 Nos 1-3 Chiaroscuro Quartet

• Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37:
• 1 Haydn: String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37: I. Allegro moderato 07:23
• 2 Haydn: String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37: II. Scherzo 02:12
• 3 Haydn: String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37: III. Andante 07:51
• 4 Haydn: String Quartet in B minor, Op. 33 No. 1, Hob. III:37: IV. Finale 05:10
• String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Hob. III:38 "The Joke":
• 5 Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Hob. III:38 "The Joke": I. Allegro moderato 07:02
• 6 Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Hob. III:38 "The Joke": II. Scherzo 03:04
• 7 Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Hob. III:38 "The Joke": III. Largo e sostenuto 04:24
• 8 Haydn: String Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33 No. 2, Hob. III:38 "The Joke": IV. Finale 03:36
• String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III:39 "The Bird":
• 9 Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III:39 "The Bird": I. Allegro moderato 08:53
• 10 Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III:39 "The Bird": II. Scherzo 02:50
• 11 Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III:39 "The Bird": III. Adagio ma non troppo 05:06
• 12 Haydn: String Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3, Hob. III:39 "The Bird": IV. Finale 02:49
• Total Runtime 01:00:20

Info for Haydn: String Quartets Op. 33 Nos 1-3

Gut strings and classical bows are also the tools of a captivating quest for sonority", French magazine Diapason recently wrote to describe the Chiaroscuro Quartet. After Op. 20, Joseph Haydn's first major string quartet cycle, and Op. 76, his last, the internationally renowned ensemble is now embarking on the Quartets Op. 33, dubbed the "Russian Quartets" and dedicated to the Russian Grand Duke Paul, the future Tsar Paul I. Having earned a reputation as eccentric and non-conformist, sometimes downright offensive, Haydn felt the need to write music more in keeping with the public's lighter, more 'popular', less 'scholarly' tone, with a livelier sense of rhythm. And while there is comedy in some of the scherzos, it would be wrong to reduce these works to what some dour critics have called 'comic fooling'. In Quartet No 1 in B minor, the comedy is cerebral, often disturbing. This is certainly not the case in Quartet No 2 in E flat major, nicknamed "The Joke" because of the sparkling tarantella that concludes it. In Quartet No 3 in C major, "The Bird", Haydn invites us to a veritable bird concert before concluding brilliantly with it's persistent refrain inspired by a wild Slavic folk dance.

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. 33 Nos 1-3