The Jerusalem Quartet’s first disc of Haydn quartets was very good, but as my colleague Dan Davis pointed out, its only defect was a tendency toward excessive haste. Here, in the finales of the Op. 33 and Op. 76 quartets, the music does move at a pretty ferocious clip, but there’s no hint of breathlessness–just plain excitement. In all other respects these are magnificent performances. Highlights include the richly lyrical slow movement of Op. 20 and a beautifully paced concluding fugue; a first movement of Op. 33 that’s truly “bird-like” as well as full of humor; and a minuet in Op. 76 whose rhythmic games, nicely pointed, turn it into a genuine scherzo. In short, these players don’t put a foot wrong interpretively, uphold the highest standards technically, and enjoy splendid engineering (just listen to the pedal-point in the cello in the finale of Op. 20!). There’s no need to say more: why read on when you could be listening?
