Haydn Quartett

With the recordings on this CD, the Armida Quartet has reached the halfway mark in a project that seeks to intimately explore an entire mountain range. Mozart’s complete works for string quartet, to which they devote intense scrutiny within the framework of a recital series that pairs them with contemporary works specifically commissioned for the occasion.

Even though Franz Joseph Haydn is widely credited as the father of the string quartet, the Casal Quartet makes a startling claim that the honor may belong to Franz Xaver Richter, whose seven String Quartets, Op. 5, seem to have determined the character of the genre, from their first performance by Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf's quartet in 1757. Richter's quartets preceded Haydn's and Boccherini's earliest efforts by several years, suggesting that they were likely influential. Furthermore, the sophistication and polish of his Op. 5 suggests that he may well have composed other such quartets, though if he did, they are lost.

Boccherini's string quartets occupy a central position in his extensive oeuvre, and next to Haydn he is certainly the most important composer of this still new genre in the 18th century. Exceptional listening experiences and light music at the highest level in exciting interpretations! D.Steppuhn in FonoForum 9/94: "Welcome repertoire enrichment in exemplary performance." Fanfare 11/94: "These are quartets that deserve a place alongside those of the three great names in classical music." Fanfare (USA) 4/92:" cpo has recorded the quartet's fresh sonority in perfect sound. Special praise goes to the 14-page text (in English, with another 14 pages in German), with highly informative biographical and musicological information. At last the course of Boccherini's life becomes comprehensible, his importance adequately assessable." Gramophone Critics Choice 12/95: "Outstanding release."