Alban Berg Quartett - Haydn: Streichquartette Op. 77 / Berio: Notturno Quartetto III (2005)

The Alban Berg Quartet excel in 18th-century repertory and the Franz Josef Haydn found here makes up an especially excellent example of this ensemble’s playing. The music is great, too: the two late Op. 77 Quartets quartets are what I believe are the finest examples he penned in this genre.

The Op. 77/2 Quartet is Haydn’s last completed effort in the genre, from 1799, and represents an achievement, one marked not by gravity or pomposity but by the composer’s characteristic wit and graciousness. The Alban Berg Quartet’s take a balanced approach but one that is musical, nails all the details and projects the right sort of sensitivity and emotion. The march-like variations Haydn uses to build the wonderful central Andante are a good example: neither too fast, nor too slow, nor too sad, but with the right solemnity and dash of emotion. The first of the Op. 77 Quartets, in G, a personal favorite of mine, is done very well. I have multiple recordings of Op. 77 and think the Alban Berg Quartet’s versions here are the class of the group. Sound quality is quite good.