This is a first disc in a planned series (presumably three discs in all) of Mozart’s six string quartets dedicated to Haydn, works that were panned in the master’s day as “definitely too strongly spiced”. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but these are ravishing works in which brilliant melodic ideas and harmonies strange for their day tumble over each other in a glorious spray. Although the Leipzig Quartet is a first rate ensemble, with a distinctive delicacy to its playing (I wished only for a darker, more introspective approach to the D minor quartet, qualities I relish in the Emerson recording), I can’t recommend this disc.
The sound, while gorgeously vivid, is spoiled by recurrent thumps. They are particularly prevalent in the last movement of the G major quartet (0:08-0:12; 1:46-1:53, etc.) but also occur in the D minor (2:47 into the first movement, 4:36 in the second, etc.). Unfortunately, this list could go on through the remainder of the recording, but the point is made. It sounds like bundles of newspaper being thrown on the floor, or perhaps someone landing badly executed cartwheels; but regardless of the real cause (and I do admit that it’s fun to speculate), a label with as good a reputation for audio quality as MDG needs to do better than this. It’s a real disservice to the music and to the musicians. I’d like to be able to anticipate better standards in the next two volumes.
