JOSEPH HAYDN: String Quartets Op. 76 Emperor & Sunrise
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ALBUM INFORMATION
COMPOSER: Joseph Haydn
TITLE: String Quartets Op. 76 Emperor & Sunrise
ARTISTS: St. Lawrence String Quartet: Geoff Nuttall, violin; Owen Dalby, violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Christopher Costanza, cello
TRACKS:
Quartet Op. 76 No. 3 "Emperor"
Allegro
Poco adagio. Cantabile
Menuetto. Allegro
Finale: Presto
Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 "Sunrise"
Allegro con spirito
Adagio
Menuetto. Allegro
Finale: Allegro ma non troppo
RECORDED: Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University, Dec 14 & 15, 2021
CREDITS: Produced by Mark Willsher; Engineered by Mark Willsher and Dann Thompson; Photo: Eric Cheng; Graphic Design: Aryahi Naomi Onaga
PRESS RELEASE: Phenotypic Announces Two New Releases from the St. Lawrence String Quartet: Haydn & Korngold
AUGUST 1, 2023 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Phenotypic Recordings is pleased to announce the release of two new recordings by the St. Lawrence String Quartet —the last with cofounder and violinist Geoff Nuttall. Both albums capture magnificent performances by this distinguished ensemble: Joseph Haydn’s Op. 76, No. 3 "Emperor", Op. 76, No. 4 "Sunrise" and Korngold's towering Piano Quintet in E Major, Op. 15 with longtime SLSQ collaborator and friend Stephen Prutsman, piano. Read more
EXCERPT FROM PROGRAM NOTES:
“Haydn's final ‘six pack’ of string quartets, Op. 76, completed in 1797, may well constitute the finest works of the genre before Beethoven's middle period… Written in Haydn's ‘final’ phase, the quartets are bold and burnished, composed for public performance at the height of his international fame on the heels of his grand concert trips to London. The six quartets also stand alone in a special historical context coming after Mozart and before Beethoven. So beloved and enduring are these works that three of them have nicknames, bestowed upon them by an adoring public who, at one time, knew each quartet as we might know the stars at night…
“[L]ike all the quartets of Op. 76, the "Emperor" is magnificent throughout its four movements including some artistic cross-connections for a composite of finely wrought coherence…
“The fourth quartet in B-flat is known by the English nickname ‘Sunrise’. The first movement begins with the sustained glow of a single, soft chord over which a solo violin slowly traces the rising sun…. A taught and rich development explores the sunrise in a much darker guise in the minor mode before a recapitulation that significantly enhances the opening materials with fresh realizations…”
© Kai Christiansen. Used by permission. All rights reserved. See full articles at
https://www.earsense.org/chamber-music/Joseph-Haydn-String-Quartet-in-C-major-Op-76-No-3-HobIII_77-Emperor/
https://www.earsense.org/chamber-music/Joseph-Haydn-String-Quartet-in-B-flat-major-Op-76-No-4-HobIII_78-Sunrise/