Salomon String Quartet

The Salomon's beautiful playing of these important masterpieces make this set indispensable. When Haydn completed his Opus 20 String Quartets in 1772 he was in his fortieth year and was on the brink of international fame. Since 1761 he had been in the service of the Esterházy family at their castle in Eisenstadt, east of Vienna, or, after the mid-1760s, mainly at the palace of Eszterháza, over the present-day border with Hungary on the other side of the Neusiedlersee.

Since the early 18th century, music has been encouraged in all children in the Czech lands and so it is not surprising to find, by the end of the eighteenth century, Bohemian and Moravian musicians holding leading positions in courts and orchestras all over Europe. When looking at the beginnings of these men, especially the composers who were significant figures in Dresden, Mannheim, Vienna, London and Paris, many of them came from humble families in remote towns and villages. Most of them had to find employment abroad, as there was not sufficient at home.

Since its formation in 1982 the Salomon String Quartet has established its position as one of the world's leading ensembles specialising in the historical performance of the classical string quartet repertoire. The quartet has toured extensively in Europe, the USA, the Far East, Israel and Australia as well as making regular appearances at British music societies and festivals. It has made many records for Hyperion and given numerous radio and television broadcasts. In addition to the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, which forms the basis of its repertoire, the Salomon Quartet has always been committed to the exploration and performance of the wealth of quartet music written by their contemporaries.

The Salomon Quartet's latest Haydn recording from Hyperion brings together the last contributions to the genre by that composer: the two Op. 77 quartets and the completed movements of Op. 103, all originally intended for a set of six that was left unfinished at the time of Haydn's death in 1809. The technical skill he displays in handling the quartet medium and the maturity of conception in these late works is hardly surprising: their experimental nature, however, is quite astonishing.

The six quartets, Op. 71 Nos. 1-3 and Op. 74 Nos. 1-3, belong to the period of Haydn's first visit to London, which lasted from January 1791 to June 1792. The autographs are actually dated 1793, but Haydn himself included them in the list of works he had composed while in england, and there are reasons for believing that this latter suggestion is the more likely. One reason is the occasional evidence that Haydn was trying to reproduce orchestral effects: the splendour of Salomon's orchestra was still ringing in his ears and he may, half consciously, have tried to imitate it in his quartets. a second and more important one is the fact that each of the six works is prefaced, unlike any of Haydn's other quartets, by an introductory passage or motif, however short, that remains distinct from the first movement even though it may exert some influence over it. This unique feature unquestionably derives from the 12 ''London'' Symphonies, all but one of which begin with a slow introduction.

The Salomon's beautiful playing of these important masterpieces make this set indispensable. The dedication, beauty and vitality of the interpretations are of the highest order … a Haydn monument as important to the 90s as the one by the Pro Arte was to the 30s.

The Salomon's observant, sympathetic readings, beautifully recorded, make a highly persuasive case for works that, the 'Lark' apart, are still far too little heard.

The Salomon's observant, sympathetic readings, beautifully recorded, make a highly persuasive case for works that, the 'Lark' apart, are still far too little heard.

Both quartets recorded here must be counted among Haydn's finest: the F major, with its bold, virtually monophonic, first movement, its lovely variation-form Andante grazioso, its dramatic Minuet (with a dark Trio in D flat) and its witty finale; the G minor, with its rich and inventive initial Allegro non molto, its grand and spacious Largo assai (in E major!), its dancing G major Minuet (with a stern G minor Trio) and its fiery, Hungarian finale.

Virile, colourful performances … sharply responsive to the music's robust earthiness and gleeful unpredictability. On 3 December 1781 Joseph Haydn dictated to his secretary a round robin letter inviting subscriptions to a new set of string quartets. The new Quartets, now know as Opus 33, were dedicated to the Russian Grand Duke Pavel Petrowich (1754-1801), hence their collective nickname. Opus 33 was a great success for Haydn. It was rapidly taken up and re-published in other European capitals, by Hummel in Berlin, by Schmitt in Amsterdam, by Napier and Forster in London, by Guera in Lyons, and by Le Menu and Boyer and then by Sieber in Paris.