BaL 17.02.18 - Haydn: String Quartet in G minor (Op 20 No 3)

[Beef Oven!]

....am I alone in hearing in the Chiaroscuro Quartet, and Alina Ibragimova in particular, a tendency to grab at the important notes / cadences? Inelegant.

Interesting. What I liked about the snippets I heard from The London Haydn Quartet was, in my opinion, a less obvious (cynical?) approach. I think that what The London Haydn Quartet were getting at may have gone over Kate Molleson's head.

[Beef Oven!]

A formidable opening to the Quartet from the London’s. I wanted to pull the duvet over my head!

Very impressive in its way and demands further invesigation with the winner already downloaded.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Interesting. What I liked about the snippets I heard from The London Haydn Quartet was, in my opinion, a less obvious (cynical?) approach. I think that what The London Haydn Quartet were getting at may have gone over Kate Molleson's head.

I know she has execrable taste in Clarinettists, but even I don't think that that should count against what she might have thought in a programme she wasn't involved in!

I LOATHED the London Haydn Quartet excerpts that were played - nerveless, listless, dead.

[Beef Oven!]

I know she has execrable taste in Clarinettists, but even I don't think that that should count against what she might have thought in a programme she wasn't involved in!

I meant Catherine!!! You know I meant Catherine!

I LOATHED the London Haydn Quartet excerpts that were played - nerveless, listless, dead.

ferney, you're such an important person in my music-thinking - why do my Gods always have clay feet!!?

[waldo]

I LOATHED the London Haydn Quartet excerpts that were played - nerveless, listless, dead.

I'm not sure I loathe them, but I know what you mean. I've got a couple of sets of theirs and find them a little dour, overall. No vibrato is a bit extreme, too. I can't for the life of me understand why you wouldn't use just a little bit here and there.........

[Richard Barrett]

I LOATHED the London Haydn Quartet excerpts that were played - nerveless, listless, dead.

Interesting. These days the LHQ are the performances I go to first (of opp. 9, 17, 20, 33 and 50 anyway). Mosaiques and Festetics are very fine of course but both have been definitively supplanted as my first choice. For me the LHQ is directly in touch with every nuance (every nerve) of the music, their togetherness in rhythm and timbre is a joy to experience, their refusal to engage with the Haydn-as-Stephen-Fry image that's so often put about is an enormous relief. I reaally don't recognise the characterisation of these recordings as dour, let alone dead. For me this is Haydn in all his expressive depth and subtlety.

[waldo]

their refusal to engage with the Haydn-as-Stephen-Fry image that's so often put about is an enormous relief.......

You are surely forgetting about the Surprise symphony.

(Boom!)

[Lawrence]

I am heartened by the comments about Kodaly! I have all the Haydn string quartets with the Kodaly and love them and I don't intend to buy any others. Did they get a mention? Unfortunately unexpected visitors meant I had to turn off the radio so missed almost the whole programme. I was so looking forward to hearing it, but it's always nice to see friends - well, most of the time anyway.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I am heartened by the comments about Kodaly! I have all the Haydn string quartets with the Kodaly and love them and I don't intend to buy any others. Did they get a mention?

Yes - and sort-of summed up what has been said on this Thread about them, with very favourable comments on the virtues of these performances whilst pointing out that there are other recordings that have even finer qualities.

[vinteuil]

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I loathed the London Haydn Quartet excerpts that were played - nerveless, listless, dead.

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Interesting. These days the LHQ are the performances I go to first ... For me the LHQ is directly in touch with every nuance (every nerve) of the music, their togetherness in rhythm and timbre is a joy to experience ... For me this is Haydn in all his expressive depth and subtlety.

... interesting indeed! For me too the London Haydn Qtt is the one I go to - but the very first snippet played today did seem ponderous. Was this just because it immediately followed a high speed rendition (was it the Amsterdam qtt?)?? The later extracts from the LHQ performance restored my faith in their interpretation...

Anyhoo - I did like the feel of the Chiaroscuri, and shall certainly get them (to add to the LHQ, Festetics, Mosaïques, Buchbergers, and other Angeles). I also liked the Hagens, and if there were a cheap set out there I wdn't say no...

An object lesson in how to do it -- erudite & entertaining -- all points justified succinctly & often with rapier-like wit.

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a BaL in the finest traditions of the programme: all thanks and credit to Ms Wallace, the Chiaroscuros, and Haydn!

Altogether an excellent BaL!


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[Eine Alpensinfonie]

An object lesson in how to do it -- erudite & entertaining -- all points justified succinctly & often with rapier-like wit. Ms Wallace's observation that one quartet's performance sounded as if "drifting in from a nearby chapel of rest" made me snort with involuntary mirth. Will order Chiaroscuro immediately.

Yes, I thought it was very well done, with much good practice that others could learn from.

I thought the final choice was horrible though. Just the sort of playing to give credence to those who say "I don't like the violin."

[Beef Oven!]

Good BaL ,and I learned a lot, but too much flowery description to be perfect , for me.

Too much elaborate descrition I find unnecessary and unhelpful when comparing recordings.

Yes, too many words?

Not enough music? Don't know.

Rather didactic and "chalk and talk". Didn't feel that I was involved in a conversation ........

But if that's what people like ........

[vinteuil]

Didn't feel that I was involved in a conversation ........

... how could you be??

(Apart from shouting at the wireless, but I don't think that counts... )

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[teamsaint]

Yes, too many words?

Not enough music? Don't know.

Rather didactic and "chalk and talk". Didn't feel that I was involved in a conversation ........

But if that's what people like ........

I did actually feel and think at the time that it felt like being in a lesson.Also that some rather elaborate but unilluminating language was used , ( and hand grenades should never be used to describe music ! ) where something more forensic might have filled the air time.
And my other criticism might be that the extracts seemed very ( too ?) brief at times. But I'm sure she had good reasons for this.

I guess that the perfect BaL that pleases everybody is impossible. But I did get a lot out of it despite reservations.

[Beef Oven!]

I did actually feel and think at the time that it felt like being in a lesson.Also that some rather elaborate but unilluminating language was used , ( and hand grenades should never be used to describe music ! ) where something more forensic might have filled the air time.

Yes, I agree.

I think last week's BaL was an object lesson in how a BaL should be done.

That's not to say that this Saturday's one wasn't good - I enjoyed it