Op 42 performed from the Hoffmeister (Vienna) edition published in 1785, Op 77 from the Artaria (Vienna) edition published in 1802, and Op 51 from the Artaria (Vienna) edition published in 1798
CDA68410 146 minutes 21 seconds (2 discs)
Haydn’s Seven Last Words—heard here in the composer’s own arrangement for string quartet—is simply sublime, and a fitting testimonial to the composer’s deep, enduring faith. It provides an apt and generous coupling for the two magnificent Op 77 quartets, Haydn’s final complete contribution to the string quartet genre.
GRAMOPHONE CRITICS' CHOICE
‘No one who loves this glorious music could have hoped for a better finish … the more I returned to these performances, the more I found myself warming to their fantasy, their disciplined spontan ...
BBC Music Magazine
‘The bare, bleak sounds [of the ‘Introduction' to The Seven Last Words]—those pauses as punctuation—and the carefully controlled vibrato make the start of the piece stark and startling just as ...
BBC Music Magazine‘The bare, bleak sounds [of the ‘Introduction' to The Seven Last Words]—those pauses as punctuation—and the carefully controlled vibrato make the start of the piece stark and startling just as ...