The Doric String Quartet has recorded a great deal of Romantic and early 20th century material, but with new violist Hélène Clément they have taken a turn toward Haydn, with distinctive results. In the composer's masterly Op. 76 set, from the very end of the 18th century, they deliver sharply etched, intense readings without a hint of the drawing room about them. The Op. 76 quartets, just as much as Haydn's very Beethovenian late piano sonatas, may be regarded as profound stylistic breakthroughs, especially surprising for ...
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The Doric String Quartet has recorded a great deal of Romantic and early 20th century material, but with new violist Hélène Clément they have taken a turn toward Haydn, with distinctive results. In the composer's masterly Op. 76 set, from the very end of the 18th century, they deliver sharply etched, intense readings without a hint of the drawing room about them. The Op. 76 quartets, just as much as Haydn's very Beethovenian late piano sonatas, may be regarded as profound stylistic breakthroughs, especially surprising for someone in late life, and that's how the Doric approach them. The harmonic daring and the near-serial economy of some of the outer movements are delivered with hair-trigger tension, and the "Presto" finales carry a sense of feverish rhythmic release. The famed variations on the Austrian hymn of the String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, No. 3, are taken slowly, with a delicate, almost mystical feel. Most remarkable are the set of Minuet trios, which in the Doric's hands are much more than...
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