Unlike many other of his string quartets, Haydn’s “Prussian” quartets are rarely recorded on a program by themselves and generally enjoy less attention than, say, the Op. 76 or Op. 33 sets. These works were the fruit of no small struggle on Haydn’s part: not only did the composer find the fifth quartet a challenge to complete, but his Viennese publishers miscopied his work, and even the dedication went awry. (His English publishers changed the dedication to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cumberland without Haydn’s approval–and to the dismay of his Viennese publishing house, who hadn’t planned on foreign competition for rights to Haydn’s work.) Even if they don’t generate the same excitement as his earlier or later works in the genre, the Op. 50 quartets are a great pleasure to hear, especially in the Festetics’ consummately elegant, supremely sweet readings for Arcana.
From the simply stated Adagio cantabile of the second quartet to the acerbic Finale of the sixth, the players hit their target dead on. They don’t become overwrought, nor are they cold; and they play each note as if it truly matters. Having all six works together is nice, too–but your appreciation of these performances may very well rest on whether or not you admire the Festetics Quartet’s period-instrument sound. To naysayers, the quality may seem a bit thin; to fans, however, the effect is bracing, and Haydn’s harmonic and melodic intentions are startlingly clear. Overall Arcana’s sound is a bit dry, yet it maintains particularly good middle-register clarity, which is a boon in appreciating the inner voices.
