For contemporary recorded performances of Haydn's String Quartets, Op. 74, the Czech Kocian Quartet cannot be bettered. For all three quartets composed in 1792 and 1793, the Kocian turns in performances that are models of how Haydn sounds now. Recorded in absolutely honest and true sound in 2004, the Kocian Quartet performances are the epitome of balance, of wit and warmth, of drive and repose, of form and content, and of performance and work. The intonation is clear, the ensemble is clean, the technique is faultless, and the combination ideal. Anyone with half a dozen recordings of Haydn's String Quartets, Op. 74, or with no string quartets at all, with enjoy this disc.
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