The general impression this disc makes is, well, strange. There’s no question that the Leipzig Quartet plays very well, but there’s a pervasive flaccidity in the quick movements, a heaviness to the minuets (the “zingarese” of No. 4 misses the “zing”), and a general lack of sufficient dynamic contrast that saps the music of energy and purpose. I have noticed, and perhaps you have too, that some quartets have a peculiar take on the “conversational” nature of the medium, producing a tone that can only be compared to muttering. True, Haydn often uses the term “sotto voce” (“under the voice”), but this shouldn’t ever be taken literally if, as in the first movement of No. 6, the result lacks definition. Allegro molto it certainly is, but “scherzando”? I think not.
The programming is also curious. This is Haydn’s only quartet opus containing two works in minor keys, but neither of them is included here. One surely should have been. Perhaps that would have compensated for the relative lack of contrast in the performances themselves, not that it should have to. Of course there are beautiful moments. The Capriccio Adagio of No. 2 is certainly memorable, the two fugal finales are clear and satisfyingly solid, and the Leipzigers are very generous with repeats. But despite excellent engineering, the result remains somehow unsatisfying.
