A useful adjunct to the Kodály Quartet’s budget Haydn series, the disputed Op. 3 works attributed to Pater Romanus Hoffstetter plug one of the last remaining gaps, with attractive readings of Quartets Nos. 3-6. The playing is very fine indeed; outer movements, such as No. 3’s brilliant concluding Presto, display tremendous verve and enthusiasm. First violinist Attila Falvay plays with imagination, accuracy, and panache, even in complex passagework above the staff, as in No. 5’s Presto. The players also get comic moments totally right (such as the minuet of the same work), letting the music make the jokes obvious, without the need for exaggeration. But they also play with utmost finesse and tonal beauty, the best moments of all coming in the Largo of No. 3 and in the Adagio of No. 4.
The famous Serenade from No. 5 has been very widely recorded, but apart from the mono 1951/52 Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet recordings of Nos. 1, 4, 5, and 6 (reissued by Preiser), there are no modern alternatives to this admirable Naxos production. Truthful, well-balanced sound and faultless musicianship makes this another winner. [9/28/2002]
